Climate activist Sonam Wangchuk arrested in Leh

Police on Friday arrested climate activist Sonam Wangchuk, three days after violent protests erupted in Leh town of the Ladakh Union Territory, leaving four people dead and nearly 70 injured.

Leh Police confirmed that Wangchuk was taken into custody on charges of inciting protesters to violence on September 24. Multiple FIRs had been registered against him earlier.

Wangchuk, who began a hunger strike on September 10 demanding statehood for Ladakh, inclusion under the Sixth Schedule, and protection of the region’s fragile ecosystem, ended his fast on September 24, the day unrest broke out.

Protesters that day hurled stones at security forces, torched a CRPF vehicle allegedly with the intent to harm personnel inside, and set fire to the BJP office and the Leh Apex Body office. The vehicle of Ladakh’s DGP was also attacked. Security forces opened fire in retaliation, killing four and injuring dozens.

A curfew was imposed in Leh to restore order, and extended to Kargil the following evening. Several protesters have since been detained. Police also said some Nepalese nationals and residents of Jammu’s Doda district were among those injured in the clashes.

The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) blamed Wangchuk for instigating the unrest and cancelled the FCRA registration of SECMOL, the educational movement he founded, citing violations of the law.

Wangchuk, a Ramon Magsaysay Award winner in 2018, rejected the allegations. He maintained that SECMOL had not received foreign contributions but had engaged in business transactions with international organisations such as the UN, Swiss and Italian bodies, with all taxes duly paid.

“When they saw these transactions, they mistook it for foreign funding. I consider it an error on their part,” Wangchuk said.

Though Wangchuk initially welcomed the Centre’s 2019 decision to grant Union Territory status to Ladakh, he later emerged as a key figure in protests demanding statehood and constitutional safeguards. Authorities now suspect that outside elements may have played a role in triggering the recent violence in the otherwise peaceful border region.
(With IANS inputs)