Srinagar: The Bhartiya Janata Party’s (BJP’s) headquarter in Ladakh was vandalised as thousands took to the streets in Leh on Wednesday (September 24) and clashed with police to demand special constitutional protections for the border region following its demotion into a Union territory in 2019. At least four people have died in the incident.Leh District Magistrate Romil Singh Donk has announced a curfew.Witnesses said that thousands of protesters, including elderly and children, poured onto the streets in Leh after a sporadic demonstration outside the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC) secretariat in Leh spiralled out of control.The BJP has been ruling the LAHDC since 2020 when it won 15 out of 26 council seats. Fresh council elections are scheduled to be held later this year.Agitated protesters resorted to heavy stone pelting in parts of Leh while a police van was also set ablaze, prompting the security forces to retaliate with teargas shelling. It was not immediately known whether there have been injuries to protesters or security forces.Ladakhi leaders have been seeking restoration of the border region’s statehood and its inclusion in the sixth schedule of the Constitution among other land and job-related guarantees, prompting the Union government to set up a high-powered committee (HPC) to look into these demands in 2023.However, the alleged lack of progress in talks between the two sides on the four-point charter of demands presented by the Ladakhi leaders has led to widespread resentment against the saffron party as well as the Union government in the strategic region bordering China.The anger building up in Ladakh since its separation from Jammu and Kashmir in 2019 spilled onto the streets on Wednesday with the saffron party’s office bearers narrowly escaping after their headquarter in Leh was taken over by a mob of angry protesters.A video verified by The Wire shows a youngster removing the BJP’s flag from the party’s three-storied headquarter in Leh and flinging it on to the ground. However, the video shows that the protester leaves the national flag unfurled besides the saffron flag untouched.“A group of young men were headed to the NDS Ground in Leh when the protest broke out. Soon security personnel came under heavy stone pelting and chaos broke out. At one place, a police vehicle narrowly escaped after it was surrounded by youngsters while another was set ablaze,” said an eyewitness, who didn’t want to be named.Massive protests broke out on Wednesday (September 24, 2025) in Leh town where a shutdown was observed. Photo: Special ArrangementIn a video message, climate activist and educator Sonam Wangchuk, whose fast at the NDS Ground in Leh entered 15th day on Wednesday, termed the protest as “social unrest” while appealing for calm.Wagchuk said that two persons, who were observing the fast along with him, were hospitalised on Tuesday in a critical state which flared up anger among the public following which a shutdown was announced in Ladakh on Wednesday.“Thousands of youngsters came out. Some people think that they (protesters) were our supporters. The entire Ladakh supports our case. It was a Gen-Z revolution which brought them out on the streets. For five years, they are unemployed. One after another, excuses are cooked to deny jobs to our youngsters. This is a perfect recipe for social unrest,” he said, while condemning the violence in which some government buildings and official vehicles were targeted by protesters.Witnesses said that the chaos broke out as a large number of people had gathered at the protest site since Wednesday morning to express solidarity with the two hospitalised persons and others who are participating in the ongoing fast. However, there were no reports of any clashes from Wangchuk’s protest site.“Whatever is happening in Leh is unfortunate. #Ladakh, once peaceful, is now gripped by frustration & insecurity due to Govt’s failed UT experiment. The onus lies on the Govt – resume dialogue, act sensibly & fulfill Ladakh’s demand for Statehood & Sixth Schedule without delay. Also I appeal people to remain peaceful and steadfast,” Kargil based activist Sajjad Hussain posted on X.The breakdown on the law and order situation has reportedly led the administration to postpone the scheduled visit of Ladakh’s lieutenant governor Kavinder Gupta to Kargil on September 25 while the upcoming Ladakh festival has also been cancelled, reportedly over “security concerns”.Meanwhile, the Kargil Democratic Alliance which has been holding talks with the Union government’s HPC along with the Leh Apex Body, has called for a complete shutdown across the region on Thursday.The two groups have been demanding that the Union government should prepone the meeting of the HPC which has been scheduled on October 6, considering the bad situation of those who are participating in the fast along with Wangchuk.