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Ladakh violence: BJP falsely claims armed man in viral footage is Congress councillor Phuntsog Stanzin Tsepag – Alt News

    Against the backdrop of the violent protests in Ladakh, BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra held a press conference on Wednesday, September 24, where he showed a picture of a man in sunglasses wearing a beige jacket and a firearm in hand. Patra claimed the man was Upper Leh ward Congress councillor Phuntsog Stanzin Tsepag.

    The Leh region witnessed unprecedented violence on September 24 as youth torched the regional office of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). In a late-night statement, the Union home ministry issued a statement ‘blaming’ climate activist Sonam Wangchuk for the unrest, alleging he had incited the mob by making provocative statements by mentioning the Arab Spring-style protest and the recent GenZ protests in Nepal.

    In addition to setting fire to the BJP’s local office, the protestors also allegedly torched a police vehicle, injuring at least 30 police personnel. In retaliation, the police fired bullets and tear gas, which reportedly resulted in the death of four people and the injury of dozens. “In self-defence, police had to resort to firing in which unfortunately some casualties are reported,” the home ministry statement said. Sonam Wangchuk was arrested on September 26 by Leh police.

    The image Sambit Patra showed at the press meet was the following:

    Patra said that Gen Z was not behind the protests, but Congress was.

    This claim was amplified by several BJP ministers and Right-wing influencers. BJP IT cell chief Amit Malviya shared the purported image of Tsepag on X and remarked, “Is this the kind of unrest Rahul Gandhi has been fantasising about?” (Archive)

    Kanchan Gupta, who claims to be a senior advisor to the Union ministry of information and broadcasting, also posted the image on X, saying that Congress councillor Phuntsog Stanzin Tsepag was behind the protest in Leh. (Archive)

    BJP MP Nishikant Dubey also tweeted the same image of the man and amplified the viral claim. (Archive)

    News 18 India senior editor Aman Chopra, during a monologue in his show ‘Desh Nahi Jhukne Denge’, drew a link between the Nepal protests and the demonstrations in Ladakh. While doing so, he mentioned several times that the Congress councillor was seen instigating the mobs in Ladakh on September 24. “Congress has not denied it yet. How will they deny it, you can see such a big firearm in his hand…”, Chopra says. (Archive)

    Journalist Ashok Shrivastav also aired the same image on state-run Doordarshan News. In a tweet, he wrote, “Is any proof still needed after this? And let the administration tell us when exactly his arrest will take place.” (Archive)

    Right-wing propaganda outlet OpIndia published a report with the headline, “Congress and Sonam Wangchuk collude to fuel unrest and mislead people of Ladakh: Read how talks with the Centre were kept under wraps”. The feature image of the report also shows the same man in the beige coat. “Footage and images have surfaced showing a Congress councilor actively inciting individuals while brandishing weapons”,  reads a line in the report. (Archive) This claim was also amplified by OpIndia editor Nupur J Sharma. (Archive)

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    Several influential Right-wing X users amplified the viral claim. They include @TheSquind, @MrSinha_ (1, 2) , @rishibagree, @theskindoctor13, @MumbaichaDon, Vijay Patel (@vijaygajera) and @TheSkandar. All of these users have X’s verified badge.

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    Fact Check

    Alt News came across the Facebook page of Congress councillor Phuntsog Stanzin Tsepag, which featured several of his photographs.

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    We were also able to locate more footage of the man at the demonstrations in Ladakh. It is pertinent to note that, while the viral image shows the man wearing a mask, the footage we found shows him without it. He can be seen sitting in front of a white car.

    The only issue with the aforementioned video footage is that one cannot see the man’s white t-shirt underneath the beige coat that can be clearly seen in the viral image. For that, we found an India Today video report where the man can be seen in the distance, standing in front of the same white car; this time, the white t-shirt is visible.

    When we compare the image of Councillor Tsepag with that of the man at the demonstrations, it is evident that they are not the same person. The man in the viral image has a noticeably larger forehead than Tsepag. Moreover, Tsepag’s face is shorter and rounder, while the man’s is longer. Tsepag also has a smaller nose.

    After the claims about him began circulating online, Councillor Tsepag released a video statement denying any involvement in the protest. He affirms that he was nowhere near the protest site. He also stated that he would be pursuing legal action against those spreading misinformation about him.

    Besides, Leh senior superintendent of police Stanzin Norboo confirmed to news outlet The Print that the man seen in the video was not Congress councillor Tsepag.

    To sum up, an image of a man carrying ammunition at the September 24 protest in Ladakh, which turned violent, is being falsely circulated as that of Congress councillor Phuntsog Stanzin Tsepag. The BJP has accused the Congress of instigating the violence. In reality, the man is not Tsepag, as the facial features do not match, a claim Tsepag himself has also refuted.

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