Four people were killed and several others injured earlier this week as protesters clashed with security personnel in Ladakh. Officials have since arrested 44 people in connection with the agitation — naming Sonam Wangchuk as the main accused. The police have since linked the activist to an arrested Pakistani operative and begun investigating his recent travel to the neighbouring country. Authorities have also begun investigating Wangchuk over foreign funding allegations after the Home Ministry cancelled the FCRA license of his NGO.
“We also arrested a Pakistan PIO in the recent past who was in touch with him (Sonam Wangchuk) and reporting back across. We have a record of this. He had his own agenda. There is a probe of foreign funding, violation of FCRA against him … We have a PIO with us who was reporting across the border, sending videos of the protests led by Wangchuk…He had attended a Dawn event in Pakistan. He also visited Bangladesh. So, there is a big question mark on him…Investigation is being done,” said Ladakh DGP SD Singh Jamwal on Saturday.
‘Wangchuk instigated the mob’
Wangchuk was arrested under provisions of the National Security Act on Friday and remains lodged in Jodhpur Central Jail. The Home Ministry had accused the climate activist of “inciting violence” soon after the clash — making note of his recent speeches to underscore the allegation.
“A mob instigated by his provocative speeches left the venue of the hunger strike and attacked a political party office as well as Government office of the CEC Leh on September 24…It is clear that the mob was incited by Shri Sonam Wangchuk through his provocative statements. Incidentally, amidst these violent developments, he broke his fast and left for his village in an ambulance without making serious efforts to control the situation,” read an official PIB statement.
Activist denies allegations
Wangchuk has denied the allegations and called the ongoing FCRA probe a witch-hunt.
“I had received a notice about a CBI inquiry stating that your organisation received foreign funding even when it did not have FCRA. We did not get FCRA because we don’t want funds from abroad. United Nations team wanted to take our Passive Solar Heated Building to Afghanistan, and for this, they gave us a fee. We also got fees with tax from Switzerland and Italy organisations for supplying knowledge to them about our artificial glaciers…” he said earlier this week.