An unrelated video of Nepal’s Gen-Z protests is falsely shared as showing the Ladakh violence
On 24 September 2025, violent protests erupted in Leh, Ladakh, demanding statehood and inclusion under the Sixth Schedule of the Indian Constitution. The demonstrations escalated when protesters clashed with police, leading to the deaths of at least four individuals and injuries to over 70 others. In response, authorities imposed a curfew and restricted internet access in the region. Prominent activist Sonam Wangchuk, who had been leading hunger strikes advocating for these demands, was arrested on 26 September 2025 under the National Security Act and transferred to Jodhpur Jail. The situation remains tense, with ongoing calls for the government to address the region’s grievances and grant greater autonomy to Ladakh (here, here, and here).
In this context, a video is circulating on social media (here, here, and here) claiming to show protesters in Ladakh vandalising public property and occupying a government building on 24 September 2025. Let’s verify the claim made in the post in this article.
Claim: The video shows protesters in Ladakh vandalising public property and occupying a government building on 24 September 2025.
Fact: The viral video does not show protests in Ladakh on 24 September 2025. It depicts violence in Chitwan, Nepal, during Gen-Z protests on 09 September 2025, when government offices, including the District Administration Office, were vandalised. The building in the video has been geolocated to Chitwan, Nepal, and the footage was uploaded online before the Ladakh protests, confirming it is unrelated to Ladakh, India. Hence, the claim made in the post is MISLEADING.
A reverse image search of keyframes from the viral video led to a Facebook post featuring the same video, uploaded on 13 September 2025, which predates the 24 September 2025 Ladakh protest. The post claimed that the video originated from Nepal.
We also found multiple social media posts (here, here) showing similar violence from the same location. One of the posts features a high-resolution photo of the same administrative building seen in the video, with the inscription: “Government of Nepal, Home Ministry, District Administration Office, Bharatpur, Chitwan.”
We then traced the building in the viral video to the District Administration Office, Chitwan, Nepal, with its architecture matching exactly, as shown in the comparison below.
According to reports (here, here, and here), Gen-Z protesters on 09 September 2025 attacked public offices and political party buildings across several districts, including Chitwan, setting courts and government offices on fire. The unrest followed the 04 September 2025 ban on 26 major social media platforms, which sparked nationwide youth-led protests. Clashes with security forces left at least 72 dead and over 2,100 injured. Despite lifting the ban on 09 September 2025, protests demanding Prime Minister K. P. Sharma Oli’s resignation continued, leading to his and several ministers’ resignations. Former Chief Justice Sushila Karki was appointed interim Prime Minister, with elections set for 05 March 2026. The army was deployed, and the interim government announced compensation and free medical care for victims’ families (here, here, and here).
To sum up, an unrelated video of Nepal’s Gen-Z protests is falsely shared as showing the Ladakh violence.