India, Sept. 24 -- As protests over statehood and other demands turned violent in Leh, Ladakh, claiming at least four lives on Wednesday, government officials monitoring the situation noticed a "sinister plot for political and personal gain" in the developments.

"It's deeply unfortunate what's unfolding in Ladakh. The situation didn't spiral on its own; it was engineered deliberately," officials familiar with the matter told HT.

The violence came even though the central government had set the next date for discussions on the protesters' demands. The next round was to take place on October 6 between the High Powered Committee set up by the Narendra Modi government and representatives of the Leh Apex Body and others.

"Upon receiving a re...