LEH, India, Sept 25, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - Indian police patrolled the northern 
city of Leh on Thursday, a day after protests demanding greater autonomy for 
the Himalayan territory of Ladakh turned deadly when security forces opened 
fire.

At least five people were killed and about 100 wounded, including 30 police 
officers.

The city -- usually bustling with tourists -- appeared deserted, with most 
main roads blocked by coils of razor wire and guarded by police in riot gear, 
an AFP reporter said.

A doctor at Leh's SNM Hospital said they had treated about 100 injured people 
since Wednesday, some of them police.

"We have operated upon six injured people, three of them had bullet injuries 
and others internal bleeding in the chest and broken ribs," said the doctor, 
who asked not to be identified.

Protests erupted on Wednesday, with crowds demanding greater autonomy in the 
sparsely populated, high-altitude desert region that is home to some 300,000 
people and which borders China and Pakistan.

India's Ministry of Home Affairs said that an "unruly mob" had attacked 
police, reporting in a statement issued late on Wednesday that "more than 30" 
officers were injured.

Protesters torched a police vehicle and the offices of Prime Minister 
Narendra Modi's Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), while 
officers fired tear gas and used batons to disperse crowds.

"In self-defence, police had to resort to firing, in which unfortunately some 
casualties are reported," the statement said. It did not give any details 
about deaths.

However, a police officer told AFP that "five deaths were reported after the 
protests". The officer spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not 
authorised to talk to journalists.

Thinley, 33, who runs an automobile spare parts shop in Leh, was shot in the 
leg.

"We are exhausted by the government by not listening to our demands", 
Thinley, who gave only one name, told AFP from his hospital bed.

Jigmet Stanzin, 23, said he was injured when he tried to throw back what he 
thought was a tear gas canister.

"It exploded and shattered my hand," he said.

- 'Betrayed and angry' -

A police unit guarded the vandalised BJP office on Thursday, alongside the 
wreckage of a burned security vehicle.

Paras Pandey, 27, an Indian tourist, walked alone along the highway out of 
Leh with a heavy backpack, looking for a ride out.

"Everything is shut. I couldn't get food since yesterday," Paras said. "All I 
could see yesterday was chaos, smoke, and broken vehicles."

Around half of Ladakh's residents are Muslim and about 40 percent are 
Buddhist.

It is classed as a "Union Territory" -- meaning it elects lawmakers to 
India's parliament but is governed directly by New Delhi.

Wednesday's demonstrations were organised in solidarity with prominent 
activist Sonam Wangchuk, who had been on hunger strike demanding either full 
federal statehood for Ladakh or constitutional protections for its tribal 
communities, land and fragile environment.

New Delhi said the protests were "instigated by his provocative speeches" and 
pointed out that efforts were continuing to discuss its governance.

Modi's government split Ladakh off from Indian-administered Kashmir in 2019, 
imposing direct rule on both.

New Delhi has yet to fulfil its promise to include Ladakh in the "Sixth 
Schedule" of India's constitution, which allows people to make their own laws 
and policies.

Omar Abdullah, chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir, said people in Ladakh 
felt "betrayed and angry".

India's army maintains a large presence in Ladakh, which includes disputed 
border areas with China. Troops from the two countries clashed there in 2020, 
killing at least 20 Indian and four Chinese soldiers.