THE LADAKH administration on Thursday announced that it will file closure reports against some of the individuals booked following the violence in Leh on September 24 last year.

The decision comes a day after representatives of the Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA) and Leh Apex Body (LAB) met officials of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) in Leh.

Ladakh Chief Secretary Ashish Kundra said: “About 87 people were booked last year. Out of them, about nine are chargesheeted, which means that there is evidence of their involvement in the incident. After the meeting yesterday (Wednesday), we have held discussions with the Lieutenant-Governor and it has been decided that cases against 25 people will be withdrawn.” He said closure reports concerning them will be filed in court in due course.

On Wednesday, the KDA and the LAB had delivered a list of non-negotiable demands to the Centre, which included financial powers for the proposed, elected Ladakh Legislative Assembly; a separate Public Service Commission for jobs in the Ladakh Union Territory and an “unconditional withdrawal” of all cases against those affected by the violence of September 24 last year.

Wednesday’s meeting was attended by Ladakh MP Mohammad Hanifa Jan, KDA co-chairman Sajjad Kargili, climate activist Sonam Wangchuk, LAB co-chairman Chering Dorjay, Chief Secretary Kundra and officials of the MHA.

Four persons were killed and at least 50 injured in Leh last year when a protest demanding statehood and extension of Sixth Schedule protections to Ladakh turned violent and police opened fire on the protesters.

Following the violence, activist Sonam Wangchuk, who was on a hunger strike for nearly 35 days in support of Ladakh’s demands, called off his fast. The activist was also booked under the National Security Act and lodged in the Jodhpur jail for six months.

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On Thursday, Kundra termed the incident a “blot on pages of India’s history” and said: “We have also directed the DGP to review the cases of the rest of the people who are still part of the investigation. We will revisit these and see if there are any more people who did not have an active role in the incident.”

Kundra said a UT-level legislative body is also being envisaged for Ladakh under certain provisions of Article 371. These discussions, he said, “will be taken further in a formal structured meeting of the sub-committee, hopefully in the first week of September”.

He said the MHA is also working to prepare a framework for this arrangement, along with the Law Ministry, to decide how it will be elected, what powers it will hold and the shape of the executive among other concerns. “These things will not happen overnight but a new model will be established for Ladakh,” Kundra said.

Meanwhile, Ladakh L-G Vinai Kumar Saxena met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on Thursday. In a statement, the L-G said he briefed the PM on the progress of key developmental initiatives, infrastructure projects and the implementation of central welfare schemes in the UT of Ladakh.