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Jailed activist Sonam Wangchuk's wife, Gitanjali Angmo, has dismissed allegations that her husband has "links with Pakistan" or was involved in financial
irregularities, calling claims that he incited violence in Leh "misplaced". Angmo said that Wangchuk has protested in a "most Gandhian way possible" and that the situation on September 24 escalated due to the actions of the CRPF, not her husband.
Why is Sonam Wangchuk Arrested?
Wangchuk, a prominent figure in the five-year-long agitation for Ladakh's rights, was detained under the National Security Act (NSA) on Friday, two days after protests demanding Sixth Schedule status and statehood for Ladakh turned violent in Leh. The unrest left four people dead and nearly 90 injured. Wangchuk was moved out of Ladakh and is currently lodged in a prison in Jodhpur, Rajasthan.
Angmo, co-founder of the Himalayan Institute of Alternative Learning (HIAL), said she has not been able to communicate with her husband since his detention and has not received a copy of the detention order. “They promised to send it on Friday. We will take legal recourse,” she told PTI.
Alleged Pakistan Links
Ladakh DGP SD Singh Jamwal said Wangchuk is being investigated for alleged links to Pakistan following the arrest last month of a Pakistani intelligence operative who sent videos of protests across the border. Wangchuk's foreign trips, including to Pakistan for a Dawn Media event, were also cited by authorities as "suspicious".
Angmo rejected the allegations, saying the visits were professional and climate-focused.
She noted Wangchuk had attended a United Nations-organised conference on climate change in Pakistan and had praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the event.
"We attended a conference organised by the United Nations, and it was on climate change. The glacier on the top of the Himalayas is not going to see whether I'm flowing into Pakistan or India," she said.
She said the 'Breathe Pakistan' conference held in February was organised by the United Nations Pakistan and Dawn Media, and involved multinational cooperation.
"There are organisations like the ICIMOD, which bring together all the eight Hindu Kush countries and work on different issues. We are part of the ICIMOD’s Himalayan University Consortium," Angmo said.
The International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) is a Nepal-based organisation founded in 1983 comprising eight regional member countries of the Hindu Kush Himalaya region – India, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, Myanmar, Nepal and Pakistan.
"The Nepal and Bangladesh reference being bandied around is actually an example Sonam gave, i.e., ‘when governments are not responsive, it leads to a revolution’. We should avoid the interpretations," she said.
Peaceful Protest and Security Response
Angmo said Wangchuk's advocacy has always been nonviolent. She claimed the Leh Apex Body protest was peaceful and that students and youth were not planning violence. "When the CRPF personnel fired tear gas, the youth reacted by pelting stones, and the whole situation escalated," she said.
She also questioned the CRPF's actions, "Who gave the CRPF the right to open fire? Why should you open fire on your own people, on your own youth?"
Financial Allegations and Institutions
Angmo defended HIAL and Wangchuk's other initiatives against charges of financial irregularities. She said HIAL's foreign funding was for consulting assignments, not donations, and the institute does not charge fees to its 400 students.
She also addressed FCRA and UGC issues, saying delays were due to administrative categories and stalling, not wrongdoing. HIAL applies innovations like ice stupas and passive solar buildings to support sustainable development, she said.
After the September 4 violence, the Union Home Ministry cancelled the FCRA license of SECMOL, an organisation founded by Wangchuk, citing alleged financial discrepancies.
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