The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Friday ordered an inquiry into the September 24 Leh violence by retired Supreme Court Justice BS Chauhan to ascertain the circumstances that led to the serious law and order situation, police intervention and subsequent death of four persons.
According to an official statement, there was a serious law and order situation in Leh city on September 24 which resulted in police action resulting in the death of four persons.
What was in the government announcement?
“The Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India, hereby announces a judicial inquiry to be conducted by the Hon’ble Dr Justice BS Chauhan, former Judge of the Supreme Court of India, into the circumstances leading to the serious law and order situation, police action and subsequent unfortunate death of four persons,” a government statement said.
According to an official statement, there was a serious law and order situation in Leh city on September 24 which resulted in police action resulting in the death of four persons.
Clashes between security forces and protesters demanding statehood for Ladakh and Sixth Schedule status left four dead and 90 injured on 24 September.
Read also | Ladakh violence: Leh restrictions lifted 22 days after four killed in protest
Two days later, the police arrested climate activist Sonam Wangchuk under the National Security Act (NSA) for allegedly inciting violence and shifted him to Jodhpur jail.
The government invites KDA to a meeting
The political and religious bodies that led the agitation in Ladakh demanded a judicial inquiry into the police action. It was one of the conditions for resuming negotiations with the Union government.
According to a notification issued by the MHA, Justice Chauhan will be assisted by former District and Sessions Judge Mohan Singh Parihar as Court Registrar and IAS officer Tushar Anand as Administrative Secretary.
The government has said that it is always open to dialogue to address the grievances of the people of Ladakh.
“We would continue to welcome discussion with Apex Body Leh (ABL) and Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA) through the High Powered Committee on Ladakh or any similar platform. We are confident that continuous dialogue will yield the desired results in the near future. The government is committed to the aspirations of the people of Ladakh,” MHA said in a press release.
Who is Justice BS Chauhan (Retd)?
Justice Chauhan was a judge of the Supreme Court from 2009 to 2014. He was previously the Chief Justice of the Odisha High Court and before that a Judge of the Allahabad and Rajasthan High Courts.
After leaving the Supreme Court, he served as chairman of the legal commission from 2016 to 2018. Later, he also headed the commission of inquiry that cleared the Uttar Pradesh police of wrongdoing in the alleged killing of gangster Vikas Dubey.
What happened on September 24th?
Violence erupted in Leh on 24 September when protesters set fire to a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) office and a CRPF van in the capital city of Ladakh during a protest demanding statehood for Ladakh and inclusion of the Union Territory in the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution.
At least four people were killed and over 70 injured during the violence and a curfew was imposed in Leh, the largest city and administrative center of Ladakh.
Police arrested climate activist Sonam Wangchuk on September 26, two days after the clashes. The Union government accused Wangchuk of “misleading people with provocative references to Arab Spring-style protest and mentions of Gen Z protests in Nepal”.
He was detained under the National Security Act (NSA) for allegedly inciting violence and shifted to Jodhpur jail.
Read also | Leh reopens days after deadly clashes; the violence investigation will end in 4 weeks
However, the Apex Body Leh has denied the role of activist Sonam Wangchuk in the violence in Leh during his ongoing hunger strike. She criticized people for branding her protest as anti-national on social media and refuted a “narrative” that accused Sonam Wangchuk of inciting violence.
A leading voice of the Leh Apex Body (LAB) and the Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA), Wangchuk spearheaded a five-year agitation demanding statehood and constitutional guarantees for the people of Leh and Kargil.
The Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India hereby announces a judicial inquiry to be conducted by the Hon’ble Dr Justice BS Chauhan into the circumstances leading to the serious law and order situation.
The restrictions in Ladakh’s Leh district were lifted on Wednesday, 22 days after they were imposed following violence during pro-statehood protests that left four people dead.
The district administration imposed bans under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) in Leh on September 24, prohibiting gatherings of five or more people.
