Magisterial probe not enough, judicial inquiry required in Leh violence: Sajjad Kargili

A judicial inquiry should be conducted into the firing during the September 24 clashes in Leh as a magisterial probe would not be able to hold the Union Territory administration answerable, Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA) member Sajjad Kargili said on Saturday.

He was speaking at an event here to release a ''fact-finding report'' on Ladakh by the Socialist Party of India and NGOs National Alliance of People's Movements (NAPM) and Hum Bharat Ke Log.

Retired bureaucrat and former chief information commissioner Wajahat Habibulah, activist Radha Kumar and Samajwadi Party MP Iqra Chowdhury also backed the demand for statehood and safeguards for Ladakh under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution raised by the KDA and Leh Apex Body (LAB).

The Ladakh administration had ordered a magisterial probe into the September 24 violence during a shutdown call given by the LAB youth that left four people dead and scores of others injured in Leh.

The KDA and LAB, who have been agitating in support of their demands, have decided to stay away from talks with the Centre scheduled for October 6 till a judicial inquiry is ordered and all those detained, including climate activist Sonam Wangchuk, are released.

''We have made it clear to the MHA -- a judicial probe should be ordered at least. A magistrate does not have the power to hold the UT administration accountable. We want an impartial judicial enquiry,'' Kargili told reporters.

He claimed the Union Territory setup in Ladakh has failed, and the ''lack of accountability over the firing incident is an example of it''.

''The people of Ladakh are facing the same treatment that people of Kashmir have been facing for years, or the treatment which Manipur has faced for the last two years... This should not have happened in Kashmir. This kind of treatment should not have been given in Ladakh,'' Kargili said.

Talking to PTI later, Kargili said the ''labelling'' of people of Ladakh has created a ''sense of betrayal'', and a probe is needed to reveal who is responsible for the incident of firing.

He also said the KDA and Apex Body Leh will hold discussions on the future course of action. ''Our movement will continue, Apex (LAB) and KDA will decide the future course of action,'' he said.

Habibullah said the loss of lives was ''shameful'' and advocated for dialogue. ''There is a need to talk. Their demands are simple, they want safeguards for their land and culture,'' he said.

''The deaths that have happened are the saddest part... Such extreme steps were not required for Ladakh. What is the government's fear?'' he said on the sidelines of the event.

Asked about the comparison with violent uprisings in neighbouring Bangladesh and Nepal, he said, ''Those incidents happened because they refused to hear the voices of people... Government needs to listen to the demands of the people''.

Samajwadi Party MP Iqra Chowdhury also extended support to the demands of the agitating Ladakhi groups and said the opposition MPs will raise the issue in Parliament.

The ''fact-finding report'' said the four core demands of the movement are not merely political points for negotiation but are essential, non-negotiable pillars for Ladakh's future existence as a distinct cultural and ecological entity.

The report said that the demands have undeniable justification rooted in both law and urgent necessity.

The inclusion of Ladakh in the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution of India is crucial to legally protect its overwhelmingly tribal identity. ''Almost 99% of the population is classified as Scheduled Tribe and is conscious about protecting its incredibly fragile, high-altitude ecology from predatory commercial exploitation,'' the report said.

It said the demand for full statehood for Ladakh is to achieve genuine self-governance and democratic agency, ''moving away from the current colonial-style administration by bureaucrats appointed from Delhi''.

It also claimed that the revocation of Article 370 had adversely affected Ladakh.

''The rich natural resources of Ladakh, from its pristine glaciers and water bodies to its vast mineral deposits of granite, limestone and even uranium, have been thrown open to rampant exploitation by outside commercial interests, with local communities having little to no say in the process,'' the report alleged.

It also said the demand for Sixth Schedule status is not a new or radical one, and was promised by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) itself.

''The BJP has now, in an act of profound bad faith and political duplicity, brazenly gone back on this solemn promise, leaving the people of Ladakh feeling cheated and abandoned by the very state they are an integral part of,'' the report claimed.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)