"Shaken Public's Trust": Ex-BJP MP Demands Probe Into Ladakh Violence

A top BJP leader from Ladakh has questioned the Government's handling of the situation and the killing of four protesters in security forces' firing on Wednesday. Demanding a judicial probe, Jamyang Tsering Namgyal, the former MP and face of the BJP in the region, has said that innocent people have been killed and "sacrifices of our young men must not go in vain".

In a letter written to the Lieutenant Governor of Ladakh, Mr Namgyal said that firing on unarmed protestors has shaken public trust and asked for a time-bound and impartial probe.

"There is grave concern that the crisis could have been handled with greater patience. While violence and arson must be condemned, the firing on unarmed protestors has shaken public trust," Mr Namgyal said in the letter.

The protesters demanding statehood and constitutional safeguards for Ladakh turned violent on Wednesday when a mob burnt down the BJP office, Ladakh Hill Council office and also set on fire police and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) vehicles. The mob also pelted stones at police and security forces. Police said around 30 police and CRPF men were injured in stone pelting.

In response, security forces opened fire, killing four people and leaving several others injured.

"I write to you with a heavy heart, on behalf of the people of Ladakh and in my personal capacity as a former Member of the 17th Lok Sabha, to express profound sorrow and deep regret over the tragic incident in Leh on September 24, 2025. What began as a peaceful democratic expression turned into violence, leaving four young lives lost, many injured, property damaged, and our community gripped by fear," said Mr Namgyal in his letter to Lieutenant Governor Kavinder Gupta.

In the letter, Mr Namgyal said, "Ladakh stands at a fragile juncture and the sacrifices of our young men must not go in vain"

Mr Namgyal was the BJP MP from Ladakh when Ladakh was carved out as a separate union territory in August 2019 after Jammu and Kashmir was bifurcated and stripped of its special status.

Mr Namgyal said the "anguish across Ladakh is profound and citizens seek justice for the innocent lives lost, relief for the injured, and assurance that such a tragedy will never recur."

Demands for a judicial probe are growing louder in Ladakh after bodies of four men killed in firing were handed over to the families on Thursday.  Among the dead is a former Army soldier of the Ladakh Scouts.

The trouble started after protesters came out of a venue where activist Sonam Wangchuk was holding a hunger strike. Mr Wangchuk was arrested on Friday under the stringent National Security Act (NSA).

While the government blamed Mr Wangchuk for inciting this violence, Ladakhi leaders allege indiscriminate firing by security forces on protesters and demanded action against those involved in firing on civilians.

"It's a clear case of disproportionate use of force. I demand an impartial and judicial probe into the killing of protesters and injuries to many people," said Haji Hanifa Jan, Member of Parliament from Ladakh.

Joining the chorus for this demand are Leh Apex Body and Ladakh Buddhist Association. Both powerful bodies of Ladakh rejected claims of involvement of Mr Wangchuk in violence and also any outsider hand in the protests in Leh. They said some people from Jammu and Kashmir's Doda, who were injured on Wednesday, were "bystanders when they were hit by bullets during indiscriminate firing".