An Indian Congress leader from Ladakh was arrested after “berating” the country’s army and making up “fake news” about deadly military clashes between India and China in the disputed border region.
Local media reported that Congress Councilor Zakir Hussain was arrested for “sedition” and “spreading of false information” on Friday. His comments came after the bloody confrontation which claimed the lives of 20 Indian soldiers earlier in the week.
In leaked audio, Hussain can be heard telling someone that China “has occupied 135km into India,” and that the Indian military was powerless to stop it. He claimed “at least 200-250 soldiers have died” – a far higher number than reported.
He added that “nobody died from the Chinese side,” though Indian media had reported that as many as 43 Chinese People’s Liberation Army soldiers were killed. Beijing admitted there were some casualties, but did not say how many injuries or deaths it had suffered.
Concerned by the dramatic interpretation of events, Hussain’s interlocutor asked him what to do. “If you have some savings, everything will be alright,” Hussain answered, adding that China “must take away half of Leh” and that Ladakh could be split between the two countries.
Once made public, the recordings quickly went viral, even sparking local protests. Hussain then appeared to go missing-in-action and his “numbers were switched off,” Times Now reported.
Police eventually tracked him down, however, and in addition to being arrested, Hussain was expelled from his party.
The clashes in Ladakh have dramatically increased tensions between India and China. On Wednesday, Indian demonstrators publicly set fire to a Chinese flag and burned an effigy of China’s leader, Xi Jinping. On Friday, an Indian government minister also called for a boycott of “all Chinese goods.”
Beijing and New Delhi haved blamed each other for the lethal border skirmishes, but both have stressed that tensions will be settled by a move towards peaceful dialogue.
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