SRINAGAR: Eight persons have been apprehended by Leh Police for their suspected involvement in organised religious conversion-related activities in Ladakh, officials said on Thursday.
Acting on what police described as credible information regarding alleged proselytisation activities in different parts of the Union Territory, an FIR has been registered at Police Station Leh under relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
According to officials, the accused are suspected of recruiting local youth for conversion-related activities in the regions of Zanskar, Changthang and the Aryan Valley.
Preliminary investigations have revealed that the group had reportedly rented a residential premises in Skampari area of Leh, where offices had allegedly been established for the translation and dissemination of religious literature. The premises are also suspected to have been used for activities linked to religious conversions.
Police said a detailed investigation has been launched to determine the scale and extent of the group’s operations across Ladakh. The inquiry is also examining possible financial transactions and suspected foreign funding links, if any.
Several laptops, digital devices and other materials have been seized as part of the investigation.
Officials said appropriate legal action would be taken based on the evidence collected and appealed to the public to cooperate with law enforcement agencies and refrain from spreading unverified information regarding the case.
Religious conversion has historically remained a sensitive and politically charged issue in Ladakh. For decades, allegations and counter-allegations of conversions featured prominently in the socio-political discourse of the region and often contributed to tensions between the Buddhist-majority Leh district and the Muslim-majority Kargil district. The issue was frequently cited as one of the factors deepening divisions between the two districts.
However, following the reorganisation of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir in August 2019 and the creation of Ladakh as a separate Union Territory, political priorities in the region underwent a significant shift. Issues relating to constitutional safeguards, land rights, employment protection and greater political representation increasingly came to dominate public discourse, reducing the prominence of the conversion debate in regional politics.
