The death of the Pattan youth, who was injured by a teargas shell during Monday’s protests in north Kashmir area against the alleged rape of a three-year-old girl in Sumbal, is a dark reminder of huge cost paid by common Kashmiris for demanding justice for the victims of either state or non-state actors. Massive protests were held in the Valley, including by students of prominent educational institutions, against the alleged gruesome incident which has sent shockwaves across the country. The youth had participated in one such protest which was tear-gassed by the police and other security forces. A projectile hit him on the head, resulting in grievous injuries. After battling for life for two days, the victim succumbed on Wednesday evening, sparking fresh tensions in the Valley. Such type of killings have repeatedly taken place in the past three decades of turmoil in the Valley, be it during the Gaw Kadal massacre when people were demanding justice for the victims of security forces’ highhandedness, the agitation over the transfer of land to a Hindu shrine board in 2008 or the mass protests of 2010 or 2016, hundreds of civilians have been killed by security forces. In this year alone, security forces have been blamed for the killings of nearly two dozen civilians. Human rights groups have documented hundreds of such cases since the insurgency broke out in early nineties where security forces have used wanton force while dealing with protests. There are documented cases where security personnel have abducted civilian on the pretext of providing them jobs who were later killed and passed off as ‘terrorists’ for money, out of turn promotions and other such freebies. Sadly, these killings are either conveniently brushed under the carpet of ‘national security’ or they get lost in the vicious cycle of violence that has ravaged the beautiful valley of Kashmir from the last three decades. Security forces who resort to brazen use of force have never been held accountable by the governments. In fact, questioning the actions of security forces is propagated as an ‘anti-national act’. Were the perpetrators of, for example, Macchil fake encounter, brought to book, it would have served as a deterrent for others in the uniform. If those in uniform responsible for the Bijbehara massacre were held accountable, there would have been no more senseless bloodshed. But because these actions have gone unpunished, security forces have become emboldened to repeat these actions with eerie regularity. Unless systems are put into place and guilty are held accountable, such killings will continue to take place.