A peaceful protest in the Indian Himalayan region of Ladakh, demanding statehood has turned deadly after Indian security forces clashed with protesters.
In response the protestors set fire to a paramilitary vehicle and the office of BJP.
Police fired tear gas and charged demonstrators with batons, injuring dozens of them, police said. Some among the injured were in critical condition, residents said.
The Modi government banned the assembly of more than five people in Leh district, the capital of the Ladakh region, after the killings of innocent civilians.
In addition, no official statement has been released on the number of casualties, but a local activist who has been on hunger strike seeking more power for the region bordering China told Indian media that three to five people are believed to have been killed in police gunfire.
“We have reports that many people have been injured. We don’t know the exact count,” Sonam Wangchuk was quoted as saying.
Protests erupted after youth groups called for the shutdown of Leh.
The protests are part of a larger movement in the federally governed region that seeks statehood and constitutional provisions from the Indian government for autonomy over land and agricultural decisions.
Ladakh lost its autonomy in 2019 when hindutva regime carved the region out of India-administered Kashmir. Since then, the majority Muslim-Buddhist territory has been directly governed from New Delhi.
The Protesters have called for Ladakh to be given special status that would allow for the creation of elected local bodies to protect its tribal areas.
On the other hand, the security situation in India’s northeastern state of Manipur has also reached to a turning point, with armed resistance against the Modi government’s policies intensifying into a full-fledged struggle for independence.
Local youth, fueled by grievances over alleged oppression and military dominance, have joined militant ranks, launching assaults on Indian military convoys and outposts, creating a growing defiance that challenges New Delhi’s control over the region.
In a stark illustration of this escalating unrest, unidentified armed militants ambushed a convoy of the 33rd Assam Rifles near Nambol in Bishnupur district on September 19, confirming the deaths of two soldiers and injuries to several others through indiscriminate firing, as reported by Indian media outlets.
The attack unfolded around 5:40 PM when the unit’s vehicle, en route from its Patsoi Company Operating Base to the Nambol base along National Highway 2, came under sudden fire in the Nambol Sabal Leikai area a spot just 8 km from Imphal airport and recently traversed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his visit.
