Ladakh Apex Body alleges indiscriminate police firing resulted in four deaths

The Ladakh Apex Body (LAB), which is spearheading the ongoing agitation in support of its statehood demand, has accused the police of indiscriminate firing at the protestors in Leh resulting in the death of four persons and injuries to 90.

The Co-Chairman of LAB, Chhering Dorje, said most of the injured bore multiple bullet and pellet injuries on the upper parts of their bodies indicating that the police fired without prior warning. The situation escalated after the police directly resorted to firing instead of using water cannons or other means of crowd control.

Advertisement

Rejecting the claims that the protestors carried weapons or were anti national, he said the protestors only removed the BJP flags and did not touch the Indian National Flag. He also denied involvement of people from Nepal or Doda in the violent clashes and said they were just passing by when the police arrested and mercilessly beat them.

BJP leader and former Ladakh MP Jamyang Tsering Namgyal has asked the LG Kavinder Gupta to order an impartial and transparent judicial enquiry into the deaths and injuries due to police firing.

The four persons, who lost their lives during Wednesday’s violent protests in Leh, have been identified as Jigmet Dorjay (25) from Kharnakling, Stanzin Namgyal (23) from Igoo, Rinchen Dadul (20) from Hanu, and Tsewang Tharchin (46), a former serviceman from Skurbuchan. One person with a bullet wound on his lungs has been flown to AIIMS New Delhi for treatment.

An uneasy calm prevailed in Ladakh after the arrest of the climate activist Sonam Wangchuk, who was leading the agitation for statehood and inclusion of Ladakh in the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution.

Leh remained under strict curfew for the third day on Friday.

A Home Ministry team that reached Leh yesterday held a series of meetings to review the overall security situation.They had held a series of meetings with the Lt Governor and civil and police officers besides the representatives of the LAB.

“The meeting decided that a preparatory meeting with the Home Ministry will take place in New Delhi on September 27 or 28, subject to confirmation of date by the MHA. The meeting will be attended by three representatives each from the LAB and KDA (Kargil Democratic Alliance) besides Ladakh MP Mohammad Hanifa Jan.

The preparatory meeting shall be followed by an immediate official meeting of the Home Ministry with a High Powered Committee comprising seven members each from LAB and KDA on a four-point agenda.

LAB and the KDA have been jointly spearheading an agitation over the past four years in support of their demands – statehood, extension of Sixth Schedule of the Constitution, separate Lok Sabha seats for Leh and Kargil and Public Service Commission.

They have held several rounds of talks with the government in the past, reaching an agreement on job guarantees and the additional Lok Sabha seat which will be decided by the delimitation commission, leaving the focus on the demand for statehood and sixth schedule.