Violence in Ladakh (AP file photo)

SRINAGAR: A court in Leh granted bail Tuesday evening to Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council’s (LAHDC-Leh) Congress councillor Stanzin Tsepag and six others, including Ladakh Buddhist Association president Dolma, who had been arrested over alleged involvement in the Sept 24 violence that left four people dead.BJP has accused Tsepag of leading violent protests that resulted in police and CRPF firing. BJP hinged its allegation on a viral photo showing a masked man holding a stick. The party said that man is Tsepag, but Congress and the councillor denied the claim, calling it “propaganda to malign the party”.Police and paramilitary forces fired at demonstrators demanding Sixth Schedule status and statehood for Ladakh after protests turned violent. Authorities clamped curfew-like restrictions, suspended mobile internet, and arrested over 70 people, including climate activist Sonam Wangchuk. Tsepag surrendered to police on Sept 27.A lawyer said the court found no grounds for continued detention and ordered their release. “Already the person holding the stick has been arrested. Tsepag has also filed a defamation case against those who described him as the mastermind of the violence,” the lawyer said.Apex Body Leh (ABL) co-chairman Chering Dorjay welcomed the bail, saying: “They are innocent and were charged under false cases. Govt should have released them on its own.”Sajjad Kargili of Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA) also hailed the decision. “These arrests were part of a larger attempt to malign Ladakh’s peaceful democratic movement. We reiterate our demand for the immediate release of all arrested leaders, including Wangchuk.”Dorjay said ABL and KDA would wait a few days before proceeding with a planned two-hour silent march and an evening shutdown across Ladakh, after the Union home ministry conveyed that it was deliberating on ordering a judicial inquiry into the September 24 killings.