Sonam Wangchuk arrested under NSA, lodged in Jodhpur jail: Top updates

Climate activist Sonam Wangchuk was arrested Friday under the National Security Act after violent Ladakh protests; the Union Territory administration has suspended mobile internet services in Leh

Climate activist Sonam Wangchuk was arrested on Friday, two days after protests demanding Ladakh’s statehood and Sixth Schedule status turned violent, leaving four dead and 90 injured.

 

Wangchuk, accused of "inciting violence" during the demonstrations, was arrested by a police team led by Ladakh Police chief SD Singh Jamwal around 2:30 p.m. on Friday. He was later lodged in a jail in Rajasthan’s Jodhpur.

 

The activist has been charged under the stringent National Security Act (NSA). As a precautionary measure, the Union Territory administration also suspended mobile internet services in the Leh area.  

Curfew eased in Leh for first time since violence

 

Curfew in Leh town of Ladakh was relaxed on Saturday afternoon for the first time since it was imposed three days ago. Police and paramilitary forces intensified patrolling and checks early Saturday morning to ensure peace. No untoward incident was reported during the period of curfew relaxation, news agency PTI reported.

 

 

Director General of Police, Ladakh, SD Singh Jamwal, confirmed the phased relaxation would last a total of four hours. “We have taken a decision (to ease restrictions). The curfew is relaxed for two hours from 1 pm to 3 pm in the first phase in old city areas, followed by a two-hour relaxation in new areas from 3:30 pm to 5:30 pm,” Jamwal told reporters.

 

The curfew was imposed on Wednesday evening after widespread violence during a shutdown called by the Leh Apex Body (LAB). 

     

 

Wangchuk’s role in agitation

 

A leading figure in the Leh Apex Body (LAB) and the Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA), Wangchuk has spearheaded a five-year campaign demanding statehood and Constitutional safeguards for Leh and Kargil, part of the Union Territory of Ladakh formed after Jammu and Kashmir was reorganised in August 2019.

 

He has also been calling for application of the Sixth Schedule to these regions; the Sixth Schedule of the Indian Constitution gives special administrative powers to autonomous district or regional councils in tribal areas.

 

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led central government has blamed Wangchuk for inciting the recent violence, which he has denied. “To say it was instigated by me is to find a scapegoat rather than addressing the core of the problem and this will lead us nowhere,” Wangchuk said on Thursday, adding that the violence reflected the frustration of youth in the region. Wangchuk called off his ongoing hunger strike after the violence erupted, in which the BJP's local office in Leh was set on fire.

 

FCRA licence cancelled

 

Wangchuk’s arrest followed the Union Home Ministry’s cancellation of the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA) licence of Secmol, the organisation he founded, citing alleged financial irregularities and fund transfers considered against “national interest".

 

Sonam Wangchuk arrest: Opposition reacts

 

The arrest has also drawn sharp criticism from Opposition parties. The Congress accused the BJP of “mishandling” the situation in Ladakh and trying to shift attention from its failures in maintaining law and order.

 

Congress leader Jairam Ramesh tweeted: “The Indian National Congress condemns the arrest of noted environmentalist and educationist Sonam Wangchuk under the National Security Act. This has been done to divert attention and responsibility from the BJP's abysmal failure to maintain law and order and ensure security of life and property in the Union Territory of Ladakh.

 

“The Modi Government cannot brush these issues away or suppress them by arresting Mr. Wangchuk. It needs to engage with the people of Ladakh in sincerity and with alacrity,” he added.

 

Congress leader and Jammu and Kashmir MLA Ghulam Ahmad Mir said: "...This is an unwanted step. The people of Ladakh have long been renowned for their peaceful nature. A group of activists has been protesting for the last six years... No Congress worker had any involvement in this violence. The local Congress unit has demanded a judicial inquiry into the whole incident. It is wrong to blame Congress. The government there mishandled the whole incident."     

 

'Arrest unfortunate', says J&K CM Omar Abdullah

 

J&K Chief Minister Omar Abdullah called the arrest “unfortunate” and added that the central government had been “after him (Wangchuk) since yesterday".

 

AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal condemned the move as “oppressive and dictatorial", drawing parallels with historical figures who faced public backlash for their autocratic actions.

 

BRS Working President KT Rama Rao condemned the arrest as “shameful, illegal, and undemocratic", calling Wangchuk a “patriotic citizen” and warning that silencing such voices threatens democratic freedoms.

 

Prohibitions and local response

 

Following the September 24 violence, prohibitions under Section 163 of Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 were imposed in Leh, banning gatherings of five or more people and any rallies or processions without prior approval.

 

The LAB asserted that the agitation was peaceful and blamed the violence on a section of frustrated youth going out of control. Co-chairman Tsering Dorjay said: “This was frustration of our youth, I don't agree there was any foreign element or Congress's involvement. If there was a foreign hand, it was a failure of the administration. We will talk to the government.”

 

Wangchuk himself had earlier expressed willingness to be arrested, saying it would raise awareness of the region’s issues. “I would be happy to be arrested anytime because it will make people more aware... Perhaps, this will be the last series of my service to the country,” he had told news agency ANI.

 

(With agency inputs)