Kamal Ghorui
SRINAGAR: Days after the Leh Apex Body (LAB) announced a rally alleging delays in talks with the Centre and accusing the judicial commission probing the Leh police firing of not submitting its report, the commission Tuesday said the inquiry was being conducted in a fair and transparent manner.Four protesters demanding statehood and Sixth Schedule status (semi autonomy) for Ladakh were killed in the police firing on Sept 24, 2025.At a press conference in Leh, joint secretary of the commission, Rigzin Spalgon, said a public notice had been issued inviting individuals to submit affidavits before the panel. “In response, the commission has received and examined a large number of affidavits from members of the general public as well as from officials representing various departments of the administration,” he said.“Up to Dec 2025, a total of 22 witnesses from administration had been examined. The inquiry work resumed in March 2026 and so far 18 administrative witnesses have been examined. In addition, 45 public affidavits have been submitted,” he said.Spalgon said the commission is currently in the process of examining the affidavits submitted by the administration. “After the completion of this phase, we will proceed with the examination of witnesses from the public and civilian side, whose statements will be recorded as part of the ongoing judicial proceedings,” he said.Spalgon emphasized that the inquiry is being conducted in a fair, transparent, and systematic manner.On Sunday, the LAB announced a rally in Ladakh for March 16. Addressing a press conference in Leh, LAB co-chairman Chering Dorjay Lakrook said the findings of the commission headed by former Supreme Court judge Justice B S Chauhan had not been made public. “We had hoped the report would have been out by now, but there is no progress,” Lakrook said.The union ministry of home affairs had set up the commission in Oct last year to probe the Sept 24 Leh firing. The ministry had said a “serious law and order situation” had arisen in Leh town on Sept 24, leading to police action and the deaths. It announced a judicial inquiry headed by Justice Chauhan to examine the circumstances leading to the incident and the police action.The probe was announced after demands from the LAB and the Kargil Democratic Alliance, Ladakh’s two main political groupings, which had made the formation of the commission a precondition for resuming dialogue with the Centre.After the announcement, the Centre resumed talks with the two groups in New Delhi on Oct 22, 2025. Another round of talks between Ladakhi leaders and the home ministry’s high-powered committee was held on Feb 4 this year but ended without any breakthrough.
