After the 24 September 2025 violence in Leh, BJP IT cell head Amit Malviya posted a video he said showed Congress councillor Phuntsog Stanzin Tsepag leading the mob that attacked the BJP office. The claim is false on its central point: Leh's senior police officer said the man in the video was not Tsepag.
Claim: A video shows Congress councillor Phuntsog Stanzin Tsepag instigating the mob and taking part in attacks on the BJP office and the hill council.
Said by: BJP IT cell head Amit Malviya, on X.
What the record shows: Leh SSP Stanzin Norboo said the man in the video is not Tsepag and appeared to be a civilian, and that police had found no direct participation by Congress leaders in the rioting and arson. ThePrint
Where the claim came from
On 24 September 2025 a shutdown in support of statehood and Sixth Schedule status for Ladakh turned violent near Cheetah Chowk in Leh. The BJP office and the hill council's offices were set on fire. Four people, including a former serviceman, were killed, allegedly in police firing, and more than 70 were injured. ThePrint
Claim · Amit Malviya Malviya posted a video and photos on X identifying a man as Tsepag, the Congress councillor for Upper Leh ward, and said he was leading the mob at the BJP office and hill council. He asked whether this was "the kind of unrest Rahul Gandhi has been fantasising about". ThePrint
What the evidence shows
Leh SSP Stanzin Norboo The SSP told ThePrint that the man in the video is not Tsepag. "We are yet to confirm his identity properly," he said, adding that the man appeared to be a civilian whose father served in the security forces. On Congress leaders, he said: "so far we haven't found direct participation in the rioting and arson incidents." ThePrint
Police were instead looking for two people they believed were directly linked to the violence, who they said had no direct ties to any political organisation. One FIR under sections on rioting and arson covered six incidents, and more than 40 people had been apprehended. ThePrint
Police position on speeches The SSP did not clear the councillors entirely. He named emotional speeches as the trigger, listing LAB youth coordinator Stanzin Chophel, Ladakh Buddhist Association vice-president Rigzin Dorjay, Sonam Wangchuk, and Congress councillors Tsepag and Smanla Dorje Nurboo. Congress leaders gave "fiery speeches", he said. ThePrint's calls and messages to Tsepag drew no response by publication. ThePrint
So the specific claim, that the video shows Tsepag leading the mob, is false according to the police. Whether his speech helped stir anger is a separate allegation the police themselves made.
Context
Government's position The Home Ministry blamed Wangchuk's "provocative" speeches for the violence. ETV Bharat The Leh Apex Body said police firing made matters worse. ThePrint A judicial inquiry had examined 93 witnesses by May 2026 Outlook, but its report is unpublished. See our Ladakh protests page.
Questions people ask
Was a Congress councillor behind the Leh violence?
Leh police said the man in Amit Malviya's video was not councillor Phuntsog Stanzin Tsepag and found no direct Congress role in the arson, though they cited councillors' speeches as a trigger.
Who is Phuntsog Stanzin Tsepag?
The Congress councillor for Upper Leh ward in the Leh hill council.
How many people died in the Leh violence?
Four people were killed on 24 September 2025, allegedly in police firing, and more than 70 were injured.
