Activist Sonam Wangchuk arrested after FIR alleges he incited Ladakh protests
SRINAGAR,SEP 26 : Two days after violent protests in Leh over demands for statehood and Sixth Schedule status for Ladakh left four people dead and 80 injured, police on Friday detained climate activist and innovator Sonam Wangchuk. The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has also cancelled the FCRA licence of his NGO, citing alleged violations.
According to reports, Wangchuk was supposed to address a press conference on Friday but was arrested before he could speak to the media.
Sources said Wangchuk, a Ramon Magsaysay Award recipient in 2018, was taken into custody from his residence in the afternoon. An FIR against him for allegedly inciting people to violence was registered on Thursday.
The MHA blames Wangchuk’s speeches for instigating the unrest in the region. “It is clear that the mob was incited by Sonam Wangchuk through his provocative statements. Incidentally, amidst these violent developments, he broke his fast and left for his village in an ambulance without making serious efforts to control the situation,” the Ministry said.
The Ministry alleged that Wangchuk’s references to the Arab Spring and Nepal Gen Z protests stirred mob fury that resulted in the local BJP office in Leh and a few government vehicles being torched.
The FCRA licence of Wangchuk’s NGO, the Students’ Educational and Cultural Movement of Ladakh (SECMOL), was cancelled yesterday. The MHA cited violations including fund transfers from Sweden and invoked its powers under Section 14 of the FCRA to cancel the licence with immediate effect.
The activist had also said that authorities were playing a ‘blame game’ and making him a “scapegoat.”
In addition, the CBI has begun an inquiry into alleged FCRA violations linked to the Himalayan Institute of Alternatives Ladakh (HIAL), whose land allotment was recently revoked by the administration.
Wangchuk had started a 35-day hunger strike on September 10 to press the Centre to initiate dialogue with Ladakh leaders on statehood and Sixth Schedule status. He called off his hunger strike on Wednesday, after the violence broke out in Leh.
Rejecting the charges levelled against him by the MHA, Wangchuk called the government’s actions “witch hunting.” He had earlier said, “I have come to know through good sources that PSA would be invoked against me so that I will be detained for two years without trial and without bail. I don’t fear detention. Police can come anytime to arrest me. I think my detention will awaken the country more than my freedom.”
-PTI
