The Ladakh administration has decided to withdraw FIRs against 25 people booked in connection with last year’s statehood protests.
The next formal meeting between Ladakh leaders and the Ministry of Home Affairs is expected in New Delhi in the first half of September.
A total of 87 persons were booked after the September protests in Leh, during which four people were killed in police firing.
Representatives of the Leh Apex Body (LAB) and Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA) had demanded the withdrawal of the cases.
The administration has agreed to drop charges against those facing only minor offences.
A meeting between LAB and KDA representatives, senior MHA officials and the chief secretary was held in Leh on Wednesday. Addressing a press conference on Thursday, Ladakh Chief Secretary Ashish Kundra said 87 people had been booked during the protests.
"A chargesheet has been presented against nine of those booked who allegedly provoked the mob that turned violent. Once the chargesheet is presented, the case goes to the court.
However, we discussed the matter with the L-G, and it was decided to withdraw the FIRs against 25 persons booked on minor charges,” Kundra said.
These FIRs will be withdrawn through closure reports before the court. “We have requested the Ladakh DGP to analyse if there are any other people who did not have an active role in the violence,” he added.
During Wednesday’s meeting, the Ladakh leaders submitted a set of “non-negotiable” demands, including the establishment of a UT-level body with an Assembly headed by a Chief Minister and a Council of Ministers.
Kundra noted that the proposed UT-level administrative body had no parallel elsewhere in the country. “The framework of the body is being structured by the MHA to give it a formal shape.
These decisions cannot be made overnight as the objective is to build a new administrative model that reflects the sentiments of the people of Ladakh while operating strictly within the constitutional framework,” he said.
Subcommittee-level talks were held in New Delhi on 22 May, after which the LAB and KDA indicated an understanding had been reached on constitutional safeguards.
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