Sonam Wangchuk Arrested Under NSA, Shifted to Jodhpur Jail Amid Leh Violence

Jodhpur: Ladakh statehood activist Sonam Wangchuk was arrested on Friday under the National Security Act (NSA) following violent protests in the Union Territory that left four people dead and dozens injured. Sources of India TV confirmed that Wangchuk has been shifted to a high-security jail in Jodhpur, Rajasthan, where he is kept under 24-hour CCTV surveillance.

Wangchuk was taken into custody at 2:30 pm by a police team led by Ladakh Police chief S D Singh Jamwal and transported to Rajasthan later the same day. As a precautionary measure, the Leh administration has suspended mobile internet services to prevent further unrest.

A prominent voice for the Leh Apex Body (LAB) and the Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA), Wangchuk has been at the forefront of a five-year-long agitation demanding statehood and constitutional safeguards for Leh and Kargil, which were carved out of Jammu and Kashmir to form the Union Territory of Ladakh in August 2019.

The BJP-led central government has accused Wangchuk of instigating the recent violence, allegations he has denied.

His arrest comes a day after the Union Home Ministry revoked the FCRA licence of the Students’ Educational and Cultural Movement of Ladakh (SECMOL), the organization founded by Wangchuk, citing alleged financial irregularities and fund transfers considered against the “national interest.”