Continue struggle in Gandhian way: Wangchuk tells people
In a message from Jodhpur jail, shared to his brother and lawyer, Wangchuk expressed his condolences to the families of those people who lost their lives and his prayers with people who are injured and are arrested
Incarcerated climate activist of Ladakh Sonam Wangchuk has sought a judicial probe into the killing of four people during Leh protests on September 24 and urged people to continue with the “struggle peacefully, in the true Gandhian way of non-violence”.
In a message from Jodhpur jail, shared to his brother and lawyer, Wangchuk expressed his condolences to the families of those people who lost their lives and his prayers with people who are injured and are arrested.
“There should be an independent judicial inquiry into the killing of our four people and unless that is done I am prepared to stay in jail,” Wangchuk said in the message shared by Kargil Democratic Alliance(KDA) member, Sajjad Kargili. “I appeal to people to keep peace and unity and continue with our struggle peacefully- in the true Gandhian way of non-violence,” he said in the message.
Wangchuk was arrested on September 26 under National Security Act and sent to Jodhpur jail for allegedly instigating violence in Leh. Wangchuk’s wife Gitanjali Angmo has denied these allegations saying he was made a “scapegoat” to weaken his movement on sixth schedule and has approached Supreme Court through a habeas corpus petition.
Four people were killed and nearly 100, including police and paramilitary personnel, were injured in Leh on September 24 after protesters went on rampage vandalising buildings, setting a BJP office and a police vehicle on fire while police and CRPF resorted to tear gas shelling and opened fire.
The clashes had erupted on the Day 15 of a hunger strike led by the Wangchuk.
“I stand firmly with Apex Body and the KDA and the people of Ladakh in our genuine constitutional demand for Sixth Schedule and Statehood and whatever actions Apex Body takes in the interest of Ladakh, I am with them , wholeheartedly,” he said.
LAB and KDA have withdrawn from talks which were scheduled with the central government on October 6, demanding judicial inquiry in Leh killings and release of arrested youth.
Ladakh’s top police officer on September 27 defended climate activist Wangchuk’s detention under the NSA, describing him as the “main instigator of violence” and claiming that investigators were looking into his alleged Pakistan connections.
The home ministry cancelled the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) licence of the SECMOL, one of the organisations founded by Wangchuk, with “immediate effect”.
