Srinagar: A day after at least four persons were killed in violent protests in the capital Leh, curfew-like restrictions have been imposed across Ladakh with the Union home ministry officials set to meet the leaders of the restive border region today (September 25).The deceased have been identified as Tharchin, 46, a resident of Skur Buchan in Leh, Jigmet Dorjay, 25, a resident of Kharnalling in Leh, Stanzin Namgyal, aged 23 and a resident of Igoo in Leh and 20-year-old Dadul from Hanu village in Leh’s Aaryan valley, The Wire has learnt.Sources said all of them were civilians and reportedly died in retaliatory action by security forces when thousands of protesters turned violent in Leh city on Wednesday.Following widespread protests in which dozens of civilians and security personnel were injured and some public property was damaged, the administration in Ladakh on the night of September 24 extended restrictions on public gatherings to Kargil district.The restrictions were imposed after the Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA), which is part of the Union ministry of home affairs’ (MHA) high powered committee (HPC) on Ladakh, called for a shutdown on Thursday in the region.The protest had been called to express solidarity with a group of more than dozen protesters led by climate activist and educator Sonam Wangchuk who were fasting in Leh since September 10 to press the Bhartiya Janta Party-led Union government to grant special constitutional protections to Ladakh.However, Wangchuk and others called off the fast evening after violence broke out between some youngsters and security personnel near the office of Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council which rapidly spread across the capital city, resulting in the death of four persons.Witnesses and local media reports said that a complete shutdown was being observed in the Leh and Kargil districts on September 25 with all offices, markets, educational institutions, banks and other business establishments closed while both private and public transport was off the roads in the region bordering China.Sources said that additional security personnel have been deployed in the twin districts to prevent any law and order problems in the aftermath of the unprecedented protests which seemingly caught both the civil and security administration in Ladakh by surprise.‘Provoking youngsters’According to a MHA statement on the night of September 24, a team of the ministry will hold deliberations with the Ladakhi leaders on Thursday and Friday while the meeting of the HPC has been scheduled on October 6. The statement didn’t specify details about the timing and the venue of the meeting.In the statement, the MHA sought to pin the blame on Wangchuk, saying that he was using “provocative” slogans of “Arab Spring-style” and “Gen Z protests in Nepal” to stir unrest in Ladakh.The statement said that the protesters set offices of the BJP and LAHDC on fire, “attacked the security personnel, and torched police vehicle … in which more than 30 police/CRPF personnel were injured”.The ministry claimed that it had achieved “phenomenal” progress in talks, even though none of the four demands made by Ladakh-based leaders has been fulfilled.The statement said that the situation in Leh was brought under control by 4 pm on Wednesday.“It is clear that the mob was incited by Shri Sonam Wangchuk through his provocative statements,” the statement said.The KDA and the Leh Apex Body have been holding parleys with the HPC headed by the junior Union home minister since January 2023 to discuss the four point agenda of Ladakh’s civil society.However, none of their four demands – statehood for Ladakh and its inclusion in the sixth schedule, reservation of jobs for locals and exclusive land rights – has been conceded by the Union government so far, even though the MHA statement claimed to have made “phenomenal” progress in the talks with Ladakhi leaders.CurfewIn an order on the evening of September 24, Kargil deputy commissioner Rakesh Kumar said that prohibitory restrictions under section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) have been imposed “with immediate effect to prevent any disturbance to public order” in the district.Section 163 of the BNSS, which is the new avatar of the colonial era section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, empowers a magistrate to issue a written order in cases where there are apprehensions of harm, danger to human life, health or safety, or a disturbance of public tranquility.The ex-parte order issued by Kumar stated that no procession, rally, public march or demonstration will be allowed without prior written permission while restrictions have also been imposed on the use of loudspeakers, sound amplifiers and vehicle-mounted public address systems.The order stated that public statements, speeches, or electronic messages have been banned which are “likely to disturb peace or provoke enmity” while the gathering of five or more persons “for purposes prejudicial to peace and tranquility” has been also prohibited in Kargil district.“Violations of the order will invite strict legal action under the provisions of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, and other applicable laws. The order, issued in the larger public interest, has been passed ex-parte and will remain in force until further orders,” the order by DC Kargil said.A similar order imposing prohibitory restrictions was issued by Leh deputy commissioner Romil Singh Donk yesterday after widespread protests broke out in the border region’s capital city in which at least four protesters were killed.