- Police arrested around 50 people in pre-dawn raids after violence in Leh, Ladakh
- Congress Councilor Phuntsog Stanzin Tsepag has been charged over the violent incidents
- At least four protesters died and 90 were injured during clashes and security firing
The police have launched a major crackdown over yesterday's violence and arson in Ladakh. Around 50 people have been arrested during pre-dawn raids and searches in Leh, after Lt Governor Kavinder Gupta vowed to act against all those involved in Wednesday's violence.
The police have also registered an FIR and charged Congress Councilor Phuntsog Stanzin Tsepag over the violence. However, it's unclear if the Councilor of Leh Hill Council is among those arrested by the police during the recent crackdown.
The Centre, meanwhile, has blamed climate activist Sonam Wangchuk and his provocative speeches that led to the massive violence. At least four protesters were killed while 90 others were injured in the clashes and firing by the security forces.
After the violence, curfew was imposed in Leh district. The Indo-Tibetan Border Police was deployed to maintain law and order, alongside the CRPF and local police. Restrictions have been imposed in Kargil in the wake of a shutdown call for statehood and constitutional safeguards for Ladakh.
The angry crowd burnt down the BJP office in Ladakh and the Ladakh Hill Council Secretariat. The BJP has blamed the Congress for the violence and released the pictures of Councilor Tsepag, claiming that he was part of a violent mob yesterday.
The Home Ministry has squarely blamed activist Sonam Wangchuk for "instigating the mob through his provocative speech". Mr Wangchuk had been on hunger strike for the last 15 days, demanding statehood and constitutional safeguards for Ladakh. Soon after violence erupted in Leh, he called off the hunger strike.
The government said that during Wangchuk's hunger strike, he invoked recent Nepal Gen Z protests to incite people.
"In spite of many leaders urging Wangchuk to call off the hunger strike, he continued with it, misleading the people through provocative mention of Arab Spring-style protest and references to Gen Z protests in Nepal," said a statement by the Ministry of Home Affairs.
The statement said that the mob, motivated by provocative speeches of Mr Wangchuk, left the venue of the hunger strike and attacked a political party office as well as the government office of the CEC Leh. "It is clear that the mob was guided by Sonam Wangchuk through his provocative statements," said the MHA.
Read: Ladakh's Big Statehood Movement. What Is It, What Do Protesters Want?
Over the past three years, Ladakh has seen growing unrest against direct central rule. Residents have repeatedly called for statehood and constitutional safeguards to protect their land, culture, and resources.
Ladakh was carved out as a separate Union Territory in August 2019, following the abrogation of Article 370 and the bifurcation of the former state of Jammu and Kashmir. At the time, many in Leh, including Mr Wangchuk, had welcomed the move. But within a year, concerns began to mount over what residents described as a political vacuum under the administration of the Lieutenant Governor.
This discontent gave rise to large-scale protests and hunger strikes. For the first time, political and religious groups from Buddhist-majority Leh and Muslim-majority Kargil joined hands under a joint platform: the Apex Body of Leh and the Kargil Democratic Alliance.
In response, the Centre set up a high-level committee to examine Ladakh's demands. However, successive rounds of talks yielded no breakthrough. In March this year, Ladakhi representatives met Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Delhi.
Talks collapsed soon afterward. Local leaders said the Home Minister had rejected their core demands.
"During the meeting, the Home Minister told us that he had made a mistake by carving out Ladakh as a separate Union Territory. He also rejected our demand for statehood and the Sixth Schedule," one leader who attended the meeting told NDTV.
