Ladakh Director General of Police SD Singh Jamwal on Saturday claimed that security forces were compelled to open fire on protesters in Leh as failing to take the action could have resulted in the entire city being “burned to the ground”, PTI reported.
He also claimed that the violence that took place in the Union Territory on Wednesday was without precedent, adding that “vested interests” and activist Sonam Wangchuk were to be blamed for it.
Four persons were killed in police firing during protests on Wednesday 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.
Wangchuk was arrested in Leh on Friday. The Union government has claimed that the violence was incited by “provocative statements” made by the activist.
Following the violence, a curfew was ordered in Leh by the district administration.
After Wangchuk’s arrest, internet services were suspended in Leh.
Dismissing allegations made by the Leh Apex Body and Kargil Democratic Alliance that security personnel fired indiscriminately at protesters, Jamwal on Saturday claimed that it was done only in self-defence and to prevent a larger flare-up, PTI reported.
The Leh Apex Body and the Kargil Democratic Alliance were formed in 2020 to represent political and religious groups from Leh and Kargil. The two groups have been spearheading the protests.
Jamwal claimed that about 6,000 persons went on a rampage on Wednesday.
“If you look at the footage and the conditions in which our forces performed, they did a highly commendable job,” the news agency quoted the director general of police as saying. “I salute them for bringing the situation under control by 4 pm after the violence started around noon.”
About 70 to 80 police and Central Reserve Police Force personnel were also injured in the confrontation, he added.
“Do you want the force personnel to die?” Jamwal told PTI. “That is not possible. Everyone has a life.”
He claimed that four women constables of the Ladakh Police were inside the BJP office when demonstrators set it on fire. All four officers were rescued with great difficulty, he added.
“The CRPF personnel posted there were severely thrashed, and one of them is still admitted to an Army hospital with spinal injury,” Jamwal said.
He also said that the secretariat was attacked.
The director general of police claimed that the violence was aimed at creating anarchy.
Defending the deployment of CRPF personnel ahead of the protests, Jamwal claimed that intelligence was received that “some elements, including Wangchuk, were trying to disturb the peace”.
He added: “If the CRPF had not been there that day, I am telling you with full confidence that the entire town would have been burned down.”
Jamwal said that peace would only come when citizens understand their responsibility.
Demand for inclusion under Sixth Schedule
On August 5, 2019, the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Union government abrogated the special status of Jammu and Kashmir under Article 370 of the Constitution and bifurcated the state into the Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh.
This, along with the lack of a legislature in Ladakh, has led to increasing insecurities among the residents of the Union Territory about their land, nature, resources and livelihoods and stoked fears that the region’s cultural identity and fragile ecosystem may be in jeopardy.
In this backdrop, civil society groups have been demanding that Ladakh be included in the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution so that its identity can be protected.
The inclusion of Ladakh in the Sixth Schedule would allow for the creation of autonomous development councils to govern land, public health and agriculture. Ten such councils exist in Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram, the only states where the Sixth Schedule has been implemented.
In June, the Union government brought in an ordinance to amend the reservation policy in Ladakh. According to the ordinance, 85% of jobs and admissions in professional educational institutions in Ladakh shall be reserved for residents of the Union Territory.
However, civil society groups said that the ordinance was only the “first step” and that the core matters pertaining to statehood and Ladakh’s inclusion in the Sixth Schedule remained unaddressed.
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