The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has granted permission to the family of Sonam Wangchuk to meet him in jail in Jodhpur, Rajasthan.
“His wife, brother, and Leh Apex Body (LAB) legal adviser are in Delhi and are on their way to meet Wangchuk in jail,” Tsering Dorjey, Co-Chairman of LAB, told The Week. The LAB and Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA) represent political, religious, and social bodies of Leh and Kargil.
Wangchuk has emerged as the face of the campaign for statehood and the Sixth Schedule for Ladakh after the region was granted Union Territory status after its separation from Jammu and Kashmir on 5 August 2019, when the BJP made the Article 370 move.
Wangchuk, a noted climate activist and educator, has been accused by police of inciting violence during the September 24 protest in which four people were killed and dozens injured, including several police and CRPF personnel.
The police referred to his statements, especially his reference to the “Arab Spring and Gez Z” protest, which Wangchuk made while leading a hunger strike for constitutional safeguards for Ladakh.
#WATCH | On whether she is getting judicial help to get in touch with her husband, climate activist Sonam Wangchuk, Gitanjali Angmo says, " Not at all. I only got a call from a member of an apex body that he recieved a call from DSP saying that some people could meet (Sonam… pic.twitter.com/BaVQEXxc1D
— ANI (@ANI) October 3, 2025
The 35-day strike began on 10 September against the delay by the MHA in holding talks on safeguards for Ladakh.
The MHA has also cancelled the registration of Wangchuk’s NGO – Students’ Educational Movement of Ladakh (SECMOL) – allegedly for FCRA violations, while the Ladakh Union Territory administration has withdrawn the lease of the Himalayan Institute of Alternative Learning (HIAL), which he co-founded with his wife, Dr Gitanjali Angmo. She has moved the Supreme Court against her husband’s arrest under the NSA.
Angmo, in her plea, has challenged Wangchuk's detention, besides seeking his immediate release. The plea also questions the decision to invoke the NSA against Wangchuk. Angmo alleged that she was yet to get a copy of the detention order, in violation of rules.
After the killings, arrests, and restrictions in Ladakh, the LAB and KDA pulled out of talks with the MHA. They have demanded the restoration of normalcy in Ladakh, the release of all detainees, including Wangchuk, and the withdrawal of the ‘anti-national’ label against Ladakh.
Meanwhile, life in Leh is slowly returning to normal. Schools up to Class 8 have reopened, traffic is back on the roads, and businesses have resumed operations. Mobile internet, however, remains suspended while police continue to monitor the situation. |
