Two days after viral news, Ladakh Congress leader claims he was not involved in violence, party threatens criminal proceedings against media and netizens

The photos and videos of a masked man participating in the Leh violence on Wednesday, 24 September, were circulated widely. Many reports and BJP-associated handles had reported that the masked person was Congress councillor Phuntsog Stanzin Tsepag. This man rioting in Ladakh is Phuntsog Stanzin Tsepag, Congress Councillor for Upper Leh Ward.He can be clearly seen instigating the mob and participating in violence that targeted the BJP office and the Hill Council.Is this the kind of unrest Rahul Gandhi has been… pic.twitter.com/o2WHdcCIuC— Amit Malviya (@amitmalviya) September 24, 2025 However, two days after the viral photos and videos, Congress councillor Phuntsog Stanzin Tsepag has issued a statement, shared by Alt News’ Md Zubair, saying that the person in the viral photos and images is not him. The Congress party, which had neither denied the alleged involvement of their councillor nor called the claims as false for two days, has been activated into doing so after many on social media questioned the party’s silence, following a thread by self-proclaimed ‘fact-checker’ Md Zubair.  It is not clear whether Congress councillor Phuntsog Stanzin Tsepag’s statement was given exclusively to Md Zubair or Zubair used the video from an already circulating generic announcement by the Congress councillor Tsepag. Zubair had posted a series of videos and photos to claim that the masked person seen participating in the violence is not Congress councillor Phuntsog Stanzin Tsepag. The person in the viral image has a bigger forehead. The nose doesn't match too. pic.twitter.com/oCs684sr8W— Mohammed Zubair (@zoo_bear) September 25, 2025 Soon after Zubair’s so-called ‘fact-check’, and some posts questioning the Congress party’s silence on the issue, Pawan Khera, the spokesperson of the Congress party, posted saying that the party will initiate legal proceedings against the anchors and influencers who had spread the ‘fake news’ claiming that the masked person was their party leader in Ladakh. Several leaders of the BJP and some anchors/social media influencers have been showing a picture and footage of someone, and misrepresenting him as the elected councillor of Congress – Phuntsog Stanzin Tsepag. We are proceeding with legal recourse and criminal proceedings…— Pawan Khera (@Pawankhera) September 26, 2025 “Several leaders of the BJP and some anchors/social media influencers have been showing a picture and footage of someone, and misrepresenting him as the elected councillor of Congress – Phuntsog Stanzin Tsepag. We are proceeding with legal recourse and criminal proceedings against all those who have not just attempted to defame our party but have also tried to cause social unrest to fuel further dissensions. Instead of sensitively engaging with the betrayed people of Ladakh, the BJP and their media/social media minions are engaging in their usual mudslinging and looking for an opportunity to milk the outrage of Ladakh and settle scores with political opponents”, Khera posted. Zubair also shared a photo collage of all the posts, calling the masked man Congress councillor Phuntsog Stanzin Tsepag, and adding “This is how a toolkit works”, implying that the posts were a coordinated campaign against the Congress councillor. Here's how the Tool Kit works. pic.twitter.com/5LWq75lM5K— Mohammed Zubair (@zoo_bear) September 25, 2025 It is important here to mention that, before even the Congress party itself, Md Zubair was keen on giving a clean chit to the Congress councillor.  In this context, it is notable that when the word ‘toolkit’ first became mainstream in Indian political discourse, after Greta Thunberg mistakenly shared a Google document asking activists to support the campaign against the Indian government over the farmers’ protests, Md Zubair’s AltNews was among the sites included in the ‘toolkit’.  Additionally, it’s not yet clear who this person is on whose back Zubair is painting the target. Whether he’s associated with any political party or any other organisation is still not clear. Government sources told OpIndia that all available footage is being used along with facial recognition software to find the identities of those responsible for the violence, and currently, police can’t reveal details of the investigation.