Outstanding Ladakh activist Sonam Wangchuk detained as unrest over autonomy leaves 4 lifeless and dozens injured.
Revealed On 26 Sep 2025
Indian police have arrested distinguished Ladakh activist Sonam Wangchuk, days after authorities accused him of fuelling violent demonstrations that left 4 individuals lifeless and dozens injured.
Officers confirmed that Wangchuk was detained on Friday earlier than a information briefing he was scheduled to carry.
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The Himalayan territory’s essential metropolis, Leh, was hit by unrest on Wednesday by violent Gen Z-led protests as youth torched the regional workplace of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Get together (BJP). Police autos had been additionally set alight as demonstrators dispersed from a web site the place Wangchuk had staged a 14-day starvation strike.
Police responded with reside fireplace, claiming they acted in self-defence. Additionally they imposed a curfew in a number of districts and shut down cellular web in Leh as tensions continued.
Ladakh, dwelling to each Buddhist and Muslim communities, has confronted political uncertainty since 2019, when Modi’s authorities stripped the area of autonomy by separating it from Jammu and Kashmir and inserting it beneath federal management.
Protesters are demanding statehood, constitutional protections for Indigenous communities, and reserved jobs for locals. Talks between Ladakhi leaders and the federal government have been persevering with since final 12 months, with the following spherical set for October 6.
As protesters clashed with the police in Leh, the regional capital, a minimum of 4 of them had been killed and dozens had been injured, protest coordinators told Al Jazeera, following extra deployment of the armed forces.
India’s inside ministry earlier accused Wangchuk of upsetting crowds along with his speeches and revoked the licence of his nongovernmental organisation, the College students’ Instructional and Cultural Motion of Ladakh, citing alleged violations. Wangchuk, who ended his starvation strike after the clashes, denied the accusations and stated the violence mirrored native anger in direction of New Delhi.
For the previous six years, 1000’s of individuals in Ladakh, led by native civic our bodies, have launched peaceable marches and gone on starvation strikes to demand higher constitutional safeguards and statehood from India. Additionally they need the ability to elect an area authorities.
