CURFEW RELAXED FOR FEW HOURS IN LEH TOWN

Authorities allowed a four-hour relaxation in curfew Saturday in violence-hit Leh in Ladakh, the first easing of restrictions after three days, while an uneasy calm prevailed in the region with authorities stepping up security a day after climate activist Sonam Wangchuk was detained under the NSA and lodged in a Jodhpur jail.

- PRESS TRUST OF INDIA

The Director General of Police (DGP) of Ladakh, SD Singh Jamwal, described Wangchuk as the key person behind Wednesday's violence and said he is being probed for allegedly having links with Pakistan following last month's arrest of a Pakistani Intelligence Operative who sent videos of his protests across the border.

The police chief rejected claims that security forces fired indiscriminately on the protesters and said they were compelled to open fire to bring the situation under control or else entire Leh would have been "burnt to the ground" by the rampaging protesters.

Ladakh Congress, on the other hand, asserted that Wangchuk has become the most visible and vocal face of Ladakh agitation and no amount of "vilification campaign and trumped-up charges" against him would hold true in the eyes of the local population. It said the government is terribly mistaken if it believes arresting Wangchuk would help restore peace and harmony in the region.