Leh court grants bail to Congress councillor, six others in September 24 violence case

SRINAGAR: A tribunal successful Leh granted bail Tuesday evening to Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council’s (LAHDC-Leh) Congress councillor Stanzin Tsepag and six others, including Ladakh Buddhist Association president Dolma, who had been arrested implicit alleged engagement successful the Sept 24 unit that near 4 radical dead.BJP has accused Tsepag of starring convulsive protests that resulted successful constabulary and CRPF firing. BJP hinged its allegation connected a viral photograph showing a masked antheral holding a stick. The enactment said that antheral is Tsepag, but Congress and the councillor denied the claim, calling it “propaganda to malign the party”.Police and paramilitary forces fired astatine demonstrators demanding Sixth Schedule presumption and statehood for Ladakh aft protests turned violent.

Authorities clamped curfew-like restrictions, suspended mobile internet, and arrested implicit 70 people, including clime activistic Sonam Wangchuk. Tsepag surrendered to constabulary connected Sept 27.A lawyer said the tribunal recovered nary grounds for continued detention and ordered their release. “Already the idiosyncratic holding the instrumentality has been arrested. Tsepag has besides filed a defamation lawsuit against those who described him arsenic the mastermind of the violence,” the lawyer said.

Apex Body Leh (ABL) co-chairman Chering Dorjay welcomed the bail, saying: “They are guiltless and were charged nether mendacious cases. Govt should person released them connected its own.”Sajjad Kargili of Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA) besides hailed the decision. “These arrests were portion of a larger effort to malign Ladakh’s peaceful antiauthoritarian movement. We reiterate our request for the contiguous merchandise of each arrested leaders, including Wangchuk.”Dorjay said ABL and KDA would hold a fewer days earlier proceeding with a planned two-hour soundless march and an evening shutdown crossed Ladakh, aft the Union location ministry conveyed that it was deliberating connected ordering a judicial enquiry into the September 24 killings.