Even Chinese did not shoot during Galwan clash: Kargil veteran on son’s death in firing

At Solar Colony, located on the outskirts of Leh town, preparations are underway for the final rites of 45-year-old former Army man Tsewang Tharchin on Monday. Tharchin was among the four persons killed in firing during a violent protest here on Wednesday.

As relatives and friends continue to arrive to express condolences, Tharchin's father, Stanzin Namgial, also an ex-Army man, who had fought during the Kargil war, meets them with moist eyes. Like his father, Tharchin too had participated in the Kargil conflict.

It is the fifth day since the incident, but Namgial and other family members are still shocked. They are still unable to believe that in the first storey of their two-storey house lies the body of Tharchin. As per the Buddhism rituals, the funeral is extended.

“I am still unable to believe that Tharchin has died. And see how he was killed... He was shot dead. Does this happen? Even during the Galwan clash, the Chinese didn’t open fire,” Namgial told \IThe Tribune.\I

“Here, the police and security forces opened fire on their own people,” he said.

Namgial said his son served in the Army with full “patriotism and dedication” until 2021.

His questions largely revolve around why the police and security forces fired directly at the protesters.

“Usually as per the SOPs, firing is first done in the air, then below the knees. We saw Tharchin's body; it looks like he was pushed to the ground and shot,” he said.

The family has another fear now. Two of Tharchin’s children, who study outside Ladakh, are expected to reach home soon.

“I don’t know how they will react after seeing their father's body. My son didn’t deserve this. This is not how the government handles its own countrymen,” he said.

On Saturday, senior officials visited his house, but they faced angry family members. “So, they quickly left,” said a family member.

The family said they were more disappointed by the fact that the UT administration was not sorry for the incident. “I want a judicial inquiry which can unravel the truth,” said the father.

Tharchin's brother recalled how his brother opted for the voluntary retirement scheme to ensure his children got the best education so that they could become military officers.

“I cannot explain how patriotic my brother was. He sent three children to military and Sainik schools only, but we never imagined that he would meet an end like this,” he said.

Inside the house, like the others in Leh, the talk is also about the “indiscriminate firing” by security personnel on Wednesday.

Amid the growing anger against the police for using force during Wednesday’s clashes, Ladakh Director General of Police SD Singh Jamwal had on Saturday said the forces were “compelled to open fire on protesters”, else the entire Leh would have been “burnt to the ground”.