The ruling party releases video evidence, claiming a local Congress Councillor incited rioters to attack the BJP office, while police detain 48 people following the clashes.
September 25, 2025: A huge protest for statehood and constitutional protections for Ladakh turned into widespread violence and fire, killing four people and injuring at least 90 more, including police officers. Since then, authorities have put a curfew in place in the Leh district and sent in a lot of police to keep things under control.
The violence, which included setting fire to the BJP headquarters and many cars, has led to a political blame game, with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) blaming the Congress for the carnage.
Congressman Accused of Inciting Violence
Amit Malviya, the head of the BJP’s IT Cell, posted a video on social media site X saying that Phuntsog Stanzin Tsepag, the Congress Councillor for Upper Leh Ward, was encouraging the violent crowd. The party used images and videos as proof that the councilor was involved in the riots.
In response, climate activist Sonam Wangchuk, who was the face of the statehood campaign, said that the BJP’s claims were false and that the Congress “does not have such influence here that it can manage to get 5000 youth on the roads.” Wangchuk admitted that the councilman did go to a hospital and say something upset because two people from his village were hurt and were in the hospital, but he still said that the party didn’t have the power to change the minds of young people.
The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) says that Sonam Wangchuk is to blame for “instigating the mob through his provocative speech.” The government said that Wangchuk lied to people during his 15-day hunger strike by making “provocative mention of Arab Spring-style protest and references to Gen Z protests in Nepal.”
The MHA said that the mob, “motivated by Wangchuk’s inflammatory speeches,” departed the hunger strike site and stormed both a political party office and the CEC, Leh’s government office.
Wangchuk ended his two-week-long hunger strike for statehood and the Sixth Schedule’s extension to Ladakh when there was a lot of violence, fire, and street fighting.
Response from Law and Order
Right after the violence:
There have been 48 arrests and a FIR has been filed.
The District Magistrate of Kargil used Section 163 of the BNS to put limits on processions, demonstrations, and illegal gatherings.
The Indo-Tibetan Border Police, the CRPF, and the local police are all on the job, and concertina wires have been put up on highways to keep people from getting to critical areas.
The Main Demand: Statehood and the Sixth Schedule
The unrest is happening because people in Ladakh are becoming more and more angry about constitutional protections. After Article 370 was repealed in August 2019, Ladakh became an independent Union Territory without a legislature.
People in the area, who are part of the Leh Apex Body and the Kargil Democratic Alliance, have been asking for statehood and to be added to the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution. The Sixth Schedule says that independent district councils can be set up to protect the land, culture, and resources of tribal tribes. New Delhi has not yet kept this promise, which is the main reason for the demonstrations. They have had several rounds of meetings with the Centre, but they have not been able to make any progress on their main requests.