The Indian army has opened investigations into a video of a man tied to the front of a vehicle in the troubled province of Kashmir and used as a human shield.

Soldiers allegedly tied the man to a jeep to protect themselves from demonstrators hurling stones as tensions escalated again in the area.

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The 11-second video came to light on Friday (14 April) and showed an unidentified man tied to the front of an army jeep as it led a convoy through the Budgam district of Indian-administered Kashmir.

The previous week at least eight civilians died and several were injured when protesters clashed with police during by-elections in India-administered Kashmir.

The video was reportedly shot in the Beerwah area of Budgam district where protestors disrupted an election by throwing stones, reported Al-Jazeera News.

Omar Abdullah, who represents Beerwah seat in the state assembly, posted stills of the alleged incident and a message on his Twitter account.

It was reported by the Hindustan Times that a voice speaking Hindi in the background can be heard saying "stone throwers will meet a similar fate".

Army spokesman Col Rajesh Kalia responded: "The contents of the video are being verified and investigated."

Rebels in Indian-administered Kashmir have demanded either independence or a union with Pakistan for decades.

Indian soldiers regularly come under attack from civilians throwing stones in the Muslim-majority region. Some activists say that rebels in Kashmir have been used as human shields since the late 1980s.

In the most recent protests, held across the districts of Srinagar, Budgam and Ganderbal, nearly 200 people, including some troops, were wounded.

Shri Shantmanu, Kasmir's chief electoral officer, said: "Violent protests happened at many places in Budgam. Protesters damaged and snatched EVMs (electronic voting machines) at some places.

"It was not a good day for all of us."

Omar Abdullah
This image was purportedly captured in Indian-administered Kashmir during ongoing violence.