Activist Sonam Wangchuk was arrested on Friday by the Leh Police amid Ladakh unrest. The protests, which have been intensifying over the past week, have already claimed at least four lives and left more than 90 people injured.
The protest led by Wangchuk alongside the Leh Apex Body and the Kargil Democratic Alliance, is centered on two major demands: full statehood for Ladakh and its inclusion under the Sixth Schedule of the Indian Constitution.
However, while violence erupted in Leh on September 24, leaders of the Apex Body have stressed that their movement was nonviolent. During a press conference on Friday, they denied allegations that Wangchuk had any role in the violence.
Ladakh Apex Body denies anti-National claims, calls police response 'disproportionate'
"Our movement will be peaceful and nonviolent. To disseminate this, we started prayers of all the religions. When Sonam Wangchuk started the Hunger Strike, a few people were there. We used to call people from villages. We called for a Leh Bandh on September 24," a member of the Apex Body explained, per ANI.
"Before that, on September 23, two people who were in the protest were admitted to the hospital. Getting to know this, a huge mob of youth came to the hospital. On the day of the bandh, more people than we expected poured in at the site of the strike. A large part of the people were youth that day."
"After this, the Youth became uncontrollable; they wanted to protest outside, but we stopped them. Our senior leaders also ordered them to stop. They didn't listen to that. They started protesting and went to the BJP office and vandalised," the Apex Body member said.
The police response, according to them, was disproportionate. "Then, the Police personnel targeted them with bullets. There was no prior warning or tear gas. The protestors were educated but unemployed and were angry," he told ANI.
The Apex Body has also pushed back strongly against claims on social media that the protest was anti-national. "Some YouTube channels are claiming that some weapons have been seized. This is wrong. There is an attempt to label the protest as anti-national. Some people are claiming a foreign hand, some are accusing Sonam Wangchuk, while some are blaming Congress. According to us, these narratives are wrong," the group said.
Meanwhile, prohibitory orders under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, remain in force in Leh, with restrictions on gatherings of more than five people.
