Ladakh: Curfew imposed, over 50 detained day after violence

More than 50 persons were detained and a curfew was imposed in Leh, the capital of Ladakh, on Thursday, a day after clashes left four dead and over 80 injured, PTI reported.

Police firing and violence broke out on Wednesday during protests demanding statehood for Ladakh and its inclusion in the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution. Demonstrators clashed with and threw stones at the police, and set fire to the Bharatiya Janata Party office and a police vehicle.

The Sixth Schedule of the Constitution guarantees protection for land and nominal autonomy for citizens in designated tribal-dominated areas. In Ladakh, more than 97% of the population belongs to the Scheduled Tribes.

Demands for constitutional safeguards in Ladakh have intensified over the years since it was carved out as Union Territory in 2019.

In response to the recent violence, authorities in Kargil and other major towns of Ladakh also enforced prohibitory orders banning gatherings of five or more people, PTI reported.

Police and paramilitary personnel in riot gear were deployed across Kargil, Zanskar, Nubra, Padam, Changtang, Drass and Lamayuru.

“Curfew has been imposed as a precautionary measure to prevent more casualties,” PTI quoted Lieutenant Governor Kavinder Gupta as saying on Thursday.

Later, his office said that a high-level security review meeting had been held “to assess the emerging situation across Ladakh”.

The Centre has blamed the...

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