Bengaluru, Jun 17 (IANS): Wearing masks and keeping physical distancing, hundreds of denizens in this tech city on Wednesday paid candlelight tributes to the 20 soldiers martyred in a violent faceoff with Chinese troops at the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Ladakh.

Holding posters and banners with "Homage to our brave hearts", "True heroes of our land", "Shame, shame China and "Shradhanjali" written in English and Kannada, men, women and even children participated in the protest at the War Memorial at Brigade Road junction in the city centre.

Besides citizen activists and people from all walks of life, members of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) also participated in the protest.

"Floral tributes were also paid to photos of three martyred soldiers -- Colonel B. Santosh Babu, Havildar Palani and Sepoy Ojha, which were placed at the Memorial along with the Tricolour and candle lights," a participant told IANS.

In a related development, about 100 Bengaluru City Youth Congress members burnt posters of Chinese President Xi Jinping in protest against the killing of the Indian Army soldiers in Ladakh's Galwan Valley on Monday night.

Condemning the brutal assault by the People's Liberation Army on the Indian soldiers, shouted slogans against the Communist government in China and called for immediate withdrawal of its troops from the Indian territory in the border areas.

They also held posters and banners, with photos of Babu, Palani and Ojha and slogans like "Brave Indian soliders are ever role models for us. Their great service is unforgettable" and "Cowards and cunning China's destruction is for sure".