SRINAGAR — After enforcing restrictions in Leh district, the Ladakh administration has now imposed similar curbs under Section 163 of the BNSS in Kargil district in a bid to thwart Saturday’s planned peaceful silent march and blackout, jointly called by the Leh Apex Body and the Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA).
The District Magistrate Kargil, Rakesh Kumar in an order imposed restrictions under Section 163 of BNSS 2023, following a report by the SSP. Kargil about an apprehension of disturbance to public order within the territorial jurisdiction of Kargil Town, TNIE reported.
The administration has banned a procession, rally, or march in the district without prior written approval of the competent authority.
According to the DM’s order, no individual or organization shall use any loudspeaker, sound amplification device, or vehicle-mounted public address system without prior written permission from the competent authority.
“No person shall issue or make any public statement, speech, or declaration—whether oral, written, or disseminated through electronic or social media—that may disturb public peace, incite enmity, or lead to any breach of law and order,” reads the order.
The DM has banned assembly of five or more persons for purposes that are prejudicial to public peace and tranquility shall remain strictly prohibited within Kargil. “Any violation of the order shall be liable for penal action under the relevant provisions of the BNSS 2023 and other applicable laws,” warned the order issued by DM.
The administration has also imposed similar restrictions in neighbouring Leh district. The mobile internet service has also been suspended in the district, which witnessed the worst ever violence in Ladakh’s history on September 24 when four persons were killed and 80 others injured in police firing after protests for statehood and 6th Schedule turned violent.
The restrictions have been imposed to foil Saturday’s 2-hour peaceful silent march and three-hour blackout across Ladakh called by KDA and LAB to express solidarity with the families of four persons killed and those injured in police firing during violence in Leh on September 24.
The LAB and KDA have asked people to wear black armbands as a sign of protest and solidarity with the victims.
The KDA leader Sajjad Kargili termed imposing of restrictions as “nothing but colonial-style treatment with the people of Ladakh — proof of how the UT experiment has failed in Ladakh”.
After the September 24 violence, LAB and KDA suspended dialogue with the centre to demand judicial inquiry by a retired Supreme Court judge into four deaths in police firing, the release of all detainees, including climate activist Sonam Wangchuk, who has been booked under NSA and jailed in Jodhpur jail, and compensation to those killed and injured in police firing.
The Ministry of Home Affairs on Friday conceded one of the main demands of Ladakh leaders by ordering a judicial probe by a retired Supreme Court judge into the September 24 violence.
KDA leader Kargili, while welcoming the ordering of judicial inquiry by MHA said “justice remains incomplete without release of all detainees including Sonam Wangchuk, compensation and medical aid for victims and statehood & 6th Schedule safeguards for Ladakh.”
Both KDA and LAB have demanded that future talks with the Centre should focus on core issues of the 6th Schedule and statehood to ensure safeguard the rights of the local population.
