Ladakh Violence Hospitalizes 90 Civilians, Injures 30+ Security Personnel
Leh, Ladakh: At least 90 civilians were admitted to the Sonam Narboo Memorial (SNM) hospital in Ladakh’s capital city of Leh following widespread clashes earlier this week and a majority of them are minors, The Wire has learnt on Friday (September 26).
Most of the injured are minors, residents of Leh and its adjoining areas, and they have been discharged from the hospital while one injured lady has been shifted by the administration to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Delhi in a critical state for “specialised treatment”, official sources said.
Sources said that about 18 minors are still undergoing treatment at the hospital which is the main tertiary care medical facility of Leh besides the medical centres run by the army in the border region along China.
“Seven people who were injured during clashes were surgically operated at the hospital and they are on the path of recovery. Many people were critical but they have stabilised over the last three days,” said sources, adding that more patients were likely to be discharged on Friday evening and Saturday.
So far, there has been no official statement on the deaths and injuries during the deadly clashes on September 24, Wednesday, when protesters seeking special constitutional protections for Ladakh clashed with security forces at multiple places in Leh, including outside Martyrs Park where climate activist and educator Sonam Wangchuk was leading a fast along with a group of more than dozen activists.
A statement by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Wednesday evening said that “more than 30 police/CRPF personnel were injured” during the clashes but it skipped mentioning the numbers of civilian casualties or the injured.
The MHA statement also didn’t mention the names of the injured security personnel, the nature of injuries suffered by them, if they were hospitalised and whether they have been discharged.
Meanwhile, Wangchuk was arrested on Friday, two days after the MHA sought to blame him for the protests. The home ministry had claimed that the “mob was incited” by Wangchuk’s “provocative statements”.
The arrest also comes a day after the ministry cancelled the FCRA licence of the activist’s organisation Students Educational and Cultural Movement of Ladakh.
‘Wide range of injuries’
An official said that around 90 civilian protesters were admitted to the SNM hospital with a “wide range” of injuries, including by bullets and pellets, though the official refused to give out the exact number of people who suffered firearm injuries during the violent clashes.
“Security forces use all kinds of weapons for crowd control. In the absence of forensic reports, it is difficult to say with certainty how many protesters were injured by firearms. Many injured victims had pellet injuries and they have been discharged after treatment,” said the official.
Deadly clashes broke out between groups of agitated protesters at multiple places in Leh on Wednesday following which Ladakh police and central paramilitary troopers resorted to firing and teargas shelling at the protesters, triggering complete chaos.
Witnesses said that hundreds of security personnel armed with automatic weapons, teargas launchers and batons made of fibre chased the violent protesters on the roads and in the alleys of Leh which led to chaos across the capital city.
“Four people are confirmed to have died due to bullet injuries in their torsos and heads, but it is possible that some of the protesters injured themselves by falling on the ground while running away from security forces,” said the official.
At least three civilian protesters admitted at the “Eye Ward” of the SNM hospital had suffered bullet injuries in their legs. A young woman who was also admitted at the ward claimed to have been hit in the abdomen by a stun grenade.
The injured civilian victims are admitted at different wards of the hospital which was turned into a fortress by the security forces on Friday afternoon after several men and women whose sons, brothers and husbands have been detained by police in connection with the protests showed up to demand their whereabouts.
The anguished men and women shouted slogans against the administration which led to crowd buildup outside the hospital’s emergency ward where some injured protesters are undergoing treatment.
Strict restrictions continued to remain in force for the third consecutive day on Friday in Leh following the deadly clashes which have triggered a sense of palpable fear, anguish and even defeat among some locals who are struggling to make sense of the ugly turn taken by the peaceful agitation in Ladakh on Wednesday.
The administration has imposed restrictions under section 163 of Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, in Leh and Kargil districts following the September 24 violence.
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