"Judicial inquiry ordered into Leh violence, to be led by former SC Justice BS Chauhan": Chief Secretary UT of Ladakh

Leh (Ladakh) [India], October 18 (ANI): In response to the recent outbreak of violence in Leh, the Government of India has ordered a judicial inquiry to investigate the incident, said Dr. Pawan Kotwal, Chief Secretary of the Union Territory of Ladakh.
During a press conference held on Friday, Kotwal said, "Today, the Government of India has ordered a judicial inquiry to be conducted by a Supreme Court judge... This judicial inquiry will be chaired by former Supreme Court Justice Dr BS Chauhan. Administrative support will be provided by one of our IAS officers. Judicial assistance will be provided by a senior judicial officer."
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Friday ordered a judicial inquiry into the law and order incident that occurred in Leh town on September 24, which led to police action and the unfortunate death of four individuals.
The inquiry will be conducted by former Supreme Court judge BS Chauhan to examine the circumstances leading to the incident, the subsequent police action, and the resulting loss of lives.

An FIR has already been registered at Leh Police Station under various sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, including Sections 189, 191(2), 191(3), 190, 115(2), 118(1), 118(2), 326, 324, 326(e), 326(f), 326(g), 309, 109, 117(2), 125, 121(1), and 61(2).
Justice Chauhan will be assisted in the inquiry by Mohan Singh Parihar, Retired District and Sessions Judge, as Judicial Secretary, and Tushar Anand, IAS, as Administrative Secretary.
The ministry stated that the inquiry aims to ensure transparency and accountability in examining the events that led to the incident and the subsequent police response.
The move comes days after a mob instigated by activist Sonam Wangchuk's provocative speeches left the venue of his hunger strike and attacked a political party office as well as the government office of the CEC Leh. They also set these offices on fire, attacked the security personnel, and torched a police vehicle.
The unruly mob attacked the police personnel, injuring more than 30 police and Central Reserve Police Force personnel. The mob continued to destroy public property and attack the police personnel. In self-defence, police had to resort to firing in which unfortunately some casualties are reported.
A hunger strike was started by Wangchuk on September 10, stating the demand of the 6th schedule and statehood for Ladakh. It is well known that the Central government has been actively engaged with the Apex Body Leh and the Kargil Democratic Alliance on the same issues.
Series of meetings were held with them through formal channel of High-Powered Committee as well as Sub-committee and multiple informal meetings with leaders.
The process of dialogue through this mechanism has yielded phenomenal results by increasing reservations for the Ladakh scheduled tribe from 45 per cent to 84 per cent, providing one-third of women's reservations in the councils and declaring Bhoti and Purgi as official languages.
With this process, the recruitment of 1800 posts was also commenced. However, certain politically motivated individuals were not happy with the progress made under HPC and have been trying to sabotage the dialogue process. (ANI)