Full Breakdown
The 2025 Leh Violence: Demands, Allegations, and an Unpublished Inquiry
By Drooid · · How we work
Core Event
On September 24, 2025 protests in Leh over demands for Ladakh’s statehood and Sixth-Schedule inclusion turned violent. Security forces opened fire, killing four civilians—including a former war hero—and injuring dozens. Activist Sonam Wangchuk alleges the firing was carried out with automatic weapons and without any lawful firing order.
Background & Context
Ladakh became a Union Territory without a legislature in 2019 after the abrogation of Article 370. Local groups such as the Leh Apex Body (LAB) and the Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA) have pressed for full statehood and Sixth-Schedule protection. The central government has offered a “sui generis” arrangement under Article 371 K, which activists say has been repeatedly back-tracked.
Data & Statistics
- Deaths: 4 civilians (Linchen Dadul, Tigment Dorje, Salwin Namgyal, Sandin Dorje).
- Injuries: Reported between 44 and 80.
- Arrests: 75 people booked; 20 of the 87 cases later withdrawn by Lt. Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena.
- Compensation: INR15 lakh per death, INR3 lakh for major injuries, INR1 lakh for minor injuries.
- Judicial Inquiry: Ordered on October 17, 2025, headed by former Supreme Court judge Justice B.S. Chauhan.
Official Statements & Responses
- Ministry of Home Affairs instituted the inquiry to examine the law-and-order situation, police action, and deaths.
- Ladakh Police called the “forced firing” allegations “false, baseless, and misleading,” saying barricades were for traffic management.
- Central Tibetan Administration (CTA), via spokesperson Tenzin Lekshay, condemned Wangchuk’s comparison of Ladakh to Tibet as “misplaced and inaccurate.”
Criticism & Opposition
The CTA’s objection adds a diplomatic dimension: while Wangchuk argues oppression in Ladakh exceeds that in Tibet, the CTA warns the comparison conflates distinct contexts.
On-the-Ground Reports
On September 23, 2026 a shutdown was observed across Leh and Kargil, with shops closed and traffic thin. Wangchuk described heavy security deployment and barricades that discouraged attendance, calling the atmosphere fearful. Police records show fewer than 800 people attended the NDS ground event, which can hold 10,000.
Conflicting Reports & Gaps
- Injury figures differ: 44 vs. 80.
- Weapon type: Wangchuk asserts AK-47s; officials have not confirmed caliber.
- Firing order: Wangchuk says no magistrate issued one; police have offered no definitive account.
- Compensation adequacy: Activists deem the amounts insufficient compared with settlements elsewhere.
Verbatim Quotes
- “Today, from Ladakh, I say — Amit Shah should resign.” — Sonam Wangchuk
- “Four people were killed in the firing that day. The bullets were not aimed at their legs so that they could escape; they struck their chests, backs and heads. These were not pellets from a pellet gun meant merely to injure people,” — Sonam Wangchuk
What’s Next
The judicial inquiry report remains unpublished. Wangchuk has warned that, if the report is not released promptly, civil society will convene a “people’s tribunal” of retired judges to investigate. A further round of talks with the Ministry of Home Affairs is scheduled for October, where activists hope to press for a detailed draft of the proposed Article 371 K arrangement and a definitive stance on Sixth-Schedule inclusion.