Fact Check: Here’s why viral RTI reply says only 89 Kashmiri Pandits were killed by militants in J&K

The India Today Anti-Fake News War Room found that the RTI response provided the death toll since 1990 and did not include killings in 1989. 

Vivek Agnihotri’s new film, ‘The Kashmir Files’, has brought the killings and the exodus of Kashmiri Pandits in the late 80s and the early 90s into the mainstream and discussions around it have dominated social media since its release.

Amid the discussion, an image of an RTI response has gone viral on social media with the claim that only 89 Kashmiri Pandits were killed by militants in Jammu and Kashmir.

While this figure has been quoted by many, some raised doubts on social media about its authenticity, asking if the figure accounted for Kashmiri Pandits killed in Srinagar alone or in the whole of Jammu and Kashmir.

Several Facebook users shared the photo of the viral RTI response with captions like, “Kashmir Police replies in the RTI on Kashmiri Pandits' killing. Total Pandits killed = 89, Total other faiths killed = 1635.”

The India Today Anti-Fake News War Room ( AFWA) found that the RTI response provided the death toll since 1990 and did not include killings in 1989.