Indian police arrest Ladakh activist after deadly protests

Sonam Wangchuk, a well-known activist from Ladakh, has been detained by Indian police after being charged with facilitating violent demonstrations that resulted in the deaths of four people and injuring dozens more.

Wangchuk was detained on Friday before his scheduled news briefing, according to officials.

As youth reportedly tore up the regional office of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Leh, the Himalayan territory’s main city, Leh, on Wednesday, causing unrest in Gen Z-led protests. As demonstrators gathered at a site where Wangchuk had conducted a 14-day hunger strike, police cars were also lit up.

Police claimed they were acting in self-defense, so they launched live fire. In response to the tensions, they also imposed a curfew in a number of districts and shut down Leh’s mobile internet.

Since 2019, when Modi’s administration severed Ladakh from Jammu and Kashmir and placed it under federal rule, the region, which is home to both Buddhist and Muslim communities, has experienced political uncertainty.

Protesters want locals to have jobs, protected by the constitution, and statehood. Since last year, Ladakhi leaders and the government have been speaking informally, with the upcoming round set for October 6.

Following additional deployment of the armed forces, protest coordinators reported to Al Jazeera that at least four of the protesters had died and dozens had been injured in Leh, the regional capital, during the incident.

Prior to now, Wangchuk’s government had accused him of provocation and of robbing Ladakh’s Students’ Educational and Cultural Movement, citing alleged violations, and revoked his non-governmental organization’s license. Wangchuk, who ended his hunger strike following the clashes, refuted the accusations and claimed that New Delhi’s violence was a result of local hostility.