Wangchuk arrested under NSA, shifted to Jodhpur jail

Climate activist and educationist Sonam Wangchuk was arrested on Friday under the stringent National Security Act (NSA), two days after protests in Leh demanding statehood and the Sixth Schedule status for Ladakh left four persons dead and nearly 100 injured.

Wangchuk was taken into custody by a team led by Ladakh Police chief SD Singh Jamwal at 2.30 pm. The police shifted Wangchuk to a jail in Rajasthan’s Jodhpur, while the UT administration snapped mobile Internet within the jurisdiction of Leh district as a precautionary measure, said officials.

Sources said the activist was supposed to join a virtual press briefing from his village when he was arrested. “We have also heard about the arrest, which is very unfortunate,” Chering Dorjey Lakrook, co-convener of Leh Apex Body (LAB), told The Tribune.

The arrest came as curfew-like restrictions continued to prevail across Leh district. The administration also snapped mobile Internet services as a precautionary measure.

Wangchuk’s wife Gitanjali Angmo condemned the arrest and accused the government of spreading "false narratives" to tarnish his image. She alleged that their house was "ransacked by the police", and that “Wangchuk was being unjustly portrayed as anti-national". "It is the worst form of democracy... without any trial, without any reason, they have just taken him away like a criminal," Angmo said. She accused the government of deliberately damaging her husband's reputation.

Opposition parties alleged that the move clearly exposed the government's witch-hunting agenda. The Congress said it was an “attempt by the government to divert attention and responsibility from the BJP's abysmal failure to maintain law and order and ensure security of life and property in Ladakh”.

J&K Chief Minister Omar Abdullah termed the arrest “unfortunate” and accused the BJP-led NDA government of backtracking on its promises. “The way the Centre was after him since yesterday, it seemed they would do something like this," said Omar.

Former CM and PDP president Mehbooba Mufti said the arrest was "deeply disturbing", terming the activist as a “lifelong advocate of peace”.

Wangchuk, a leading voice for the LAB and the Kargil Democratic Alliance, has been spearheading the five-year-long agitation for statehood and constitutional safeguards for the residents of Leh and Kargil, which form part of the Ladakh union territory carved out from erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir in 2019.

The activist was on a 35-day hunger strike, which he ended soon after the violence erupted in Leh town on Wednesday. A mob, comprising mostly youth, set ablaze the BJP office, Leh Hill Council building and several vehicles, prompting the police to fire on the protesters.

Ahead of his arrest, Wangchuk had told The Tribune on Thursday night that how “someone like him who had always worked to provide education to poor children, served the defence forces through his innovations and launched the ‘boycott Chinese goods’ movement would be put behind bars”. “All these schools and the university provide free education. So, this person goes to jail while those who loot the government will continue to roam free. Those who play politics are free. The nation needs to see and understand what kind of India we are living in,” he said.