2025 Leh violence: Judicial inquiry nears completion, 93 witnesses examined

Joint Secretary of the Judicial Inquiry Commission probing the Leh violence in September, Rigzin Spalgon, on Friday said 93 witnesses have been examined until the third session of the inquiry.

Joint Secretary of the Judicial Inquiry Commission probing the Leh violence in September, Rigzin Spalgon, on Friday said 93 witnesses have been examined until the third session of the inquiry. He expressed hope that the ongoing session would likely be the final phase of the probe. The three-member commission, headed by former Supreme Court judge B S Chauhan, was appointed by the Ministry of Home Affairs on October 17 last year to look into the circumstances that led to a law and order crisis in Leh on September 24, 2025. It was also tasked to review actions taken by police during the situation, and assess the events resulting in the loss of four lives, including that of a 1999 Kargil war veteran, in police firing. While four individuals were killed and 80 others were injured in police firing, the protesters had set the BJP office on fire, and burnt private and public cars. Retired district and sessions judge Mohan Singh Parihar serves as judicial secretary and Advocate Himanshu Sharma acts as counsel to the commission. The commission was formed after the Leh Apex Body and Kargil Democratic Alliance -- which had been jointly spearheading the agitation demanding Sixth Schedule status and statehood to Ladakh -- rejected the magisterial inquiry ordered by the L-G administration into the September 24 violence and urged the Centre to order a judicial inquiry into the violence. The Judicial Inquiry Commission has extended the deadline for recording statements and submitting evidence several times, following a formal request from the Leh Apex Body.