Ladakh Lieutenant-Governor Kavinder Gupta on Monday chaired a high-level meeting with officials of the administration and security forces to assess the situation in the region. In a statement, the LG said that the UT remains peaceful, with schools, offices, and markets having reopened. He also urged officials to remain “vigilant and focus on peace and development”.
Talks scheduled between the MHA and Ladakh groups as part of the Centre’s High-Powered Committee were meanwhile cancelled as both the Apex Body Leh (ABL) and Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA) pulled out.
Situation in Leh remained tense after protests seeking statehood and protections under the Sixth Schedule for the region turned violent on September 24, leading to the death of four persons in police firing.
Representatives of the Apex Body Leh contradicted the LG’s, stating that “claims of normalcy” in Leh are false. President of the Ladakh Buddhist Association and Apex Body member Cherring Dorjay Lakrook said that “people are still being picked up for questioning and the internet restrictions are also in place, therefore these claims of normalcy on the surface are incorrect.”
He said that in order to restore confidence among the people of Ladakh, “the government must lift restrictions and restore the internet”. He also stated that some village headmen (lambardars) have been called in for questioning, but “they were acting on the suggestion of the Apex Body when they asked people to join the hunger strike in September.”
Emphasising that they are a critical part of the functioning of governance in villages, he said, “The administration should refrain from bringing them in for questioning. We condemn this and consider this an attack on our culture.”.
On Saturday, Ladakh Chief Secretary Pawan Kotwal said that of the 70 youth who were detained, “misled by some leaders for their personal and political gains”, 30 have been released while the rest are in judicial custody and shall be released, based on court orders.
He said that “the entire episode could have been avoided if some leaders had risen above personal and political ambitions by calling off the hunger strike”.
