After the detention of climate activist Sonam Wangchuk two days after a protest took a violent turn in Leh city of Ladakh, his wife Gitanjali Angmo on Friday (September 27, 2025) said that the police later called her over the phone to say that Mr. Wangchuk was being flown to Jodhpur in Rajasthan.
Ms. Angmo told The Hindu that hundreds of policemen came to his village Uletokpo, around 60 k.m. from Leh, on Friday (September 26, 2025) afternoon and detained him under the National Security Act (NSA). Later, over the phone, they told her that a copy of the detention order would be served soon to the family.
While a senior government official told The Hindu that the activist was detained under the NSA, there was no official statement by the Ladakh administration or the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) regarding the detention.
The MHA had accused Mr. Wangchuk of making “provocative statements”, leading to the violence on September 24 during the protests demanding Statehood for Ladakh and tribal status under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution. Four people were killed in police action after the protest turned violent.
Also Read | AAP attacks BJP over Sonam Wangchuk’s detention
“Sonam is certainly not a threat to public order. He has been protesting in the most peaceful and Gandhian way possible. It was a peaceful protest by the Ladakhi youth. It was the security personnel who used tear gas first, and as a reaction to that, the youth started pelting stones and the whole thing escalated. Sonam had nothing to do with it. Forget inciting it, he was not even aware of this. He immediately condemned the violence and stopped his fast because he did not want the youth to be harmed in any way,” she said.
Ms. Angmo is also the co-founder of Himalayan Institute of Alternative Studies (HIAL), whose land allotment was cancelled last month.
‘Will prepare legal response’
She said she was yet to receive a copy of the formal detention order and that Mr. Wangchuk was not on the way to Leh to address a press conference when he was detained as being alleged. “We will prepare the legal response once we get a copy of the order,” she said.
The NSA enables detention of an individual for up to a year based on executive orders and without a trial in the court of law on the grounds of threat to national security or to prevent him/ her from disrupting public order.
A day before his arrest, Mr. Wangchuk had told The Hindu in an interview that the authorities were playing a blame game and making him a “scapegoat” and while he did not fear being arrested, there were indications that he would be booked under the “draconian Public Safety Act” (applicable in erstwhile J&K).
“This is not the way to heal a wound; it will further aggravate the situation; it will further anger the youth. After doing all this to us… for six years of joblessness, of unmet promises, they are now just blaming me for everything,” Mr. Wangchuk said.
LBA pledges support for activist
Cherring Dorjay Lakruk, president of the influential Ladakh Buddhist Association (LBA), said that they were yet to get a clear picture about the circumstances around Mr. Wangchuk’s detention.
“We will support him and extend legal help too. Our legal team is working on this. It is understood that he has been sent out of Ladakh,” Mr. Lakruk told The Hindu.
Mr. Lakruk is also the co-convenor of the Leh Apex Body (LAB), which, along with Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA), is spearheading the protests to demand Statehood for Ladakh and tribal status under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution for the past five years.
Meeting with MHA officials deferred
He said the proposed preliminary meeting with MHA officials on September 27-28 stands deferred.
“The funeral of the four killed during the protests are scheduled on Sunday and Monday and we can meet the MHA officials only after that. Meanwhile, Mr. Wangchuk has been arrested. We have to decide the future course of action,” he said.
Ruling out any street protests as prohibitory orders are in place in Leh, Mr. Lakruk said, “We have to be cautious as more people could be arrested and put behind bars for violating the prohibitory orders.”
On September 24, the MHA accused Mr. Wangchuk of making “provocative statements” which triggered the violence on September 24, leading to death of four people and injuries to around 70 people. Mr. Wangchuk and 15 others were on the 15th day of their 35-day hunger strike on behalf of the LAB and KDA when the violence erupted.
The fresh protests have come at a time when hill council elections are due next month in Ladakh. In 2020, the BJP had won the elections. Ladakh was carved out as a Union Territory in 2019 from the erstwhile State of Jammu and Kashmir.
Published – September 27, 2025 12:20 am IST
