Gitanjali Angmo, the wife of famous climate campaigner and education reformer Sonam Wangchuk, has gone to the Supreme Court of India to fight the Ladakh administration’s decision to hold him under the strict National Security Act (NSA).
Wangchuk was arrested and then taken to Jodhpur Central Jail in Rajasthan a few days after unrest broke out in Leh. There were fights between protesters and police during protests asking for Statehood for Ladakh and for the region to be added to the Constitution’s Sixth Schedule.
Held in custody during protests and claims of “Pakistani links”
Since Ladakh became a Union Territory in 2019, Wangchuk has been a well-known leader in the fight for constitutional protections for the region’s distinctive tribal culture, environment, and economy. He was arrested after protests in Leh turned violent, killing four people and injuring many more. Officials say he started the violent protests.
The detention also came after the Ladakh administration made strong accusations. Ladakh’s Director General of Police, SD Singh Jamwal, said that Wangchuk was being investigated because he was allegedly linked to a recently arrested Pakistani intelligence operator (PIO) who was said to be sending videos of his protests across the border. The DGP further mentioned that Wangchuk had been to a conference in Pakistan before.
Wife Denies Charges, Says They’re a “Smokescreen”
Gitanjali Angmo has strongly refuted the accusations, saying they are part of a “witch-hunt” meant to destroy the Sixth Schedule movement.
Angmo said that Wangchuk went to Pakistan to go to a UN and Dawn Media-organized climate change conference in February. At the conference, he even complimented Prime Minister Modi’s “Mission Life.”
She also questioned the authorities over the security breach, saying, “If they say they saw a Pakistani in Ladakh, our question is, ‘How did you let the security breach happen?’ Sonam Wangchuk doesn’t need to explain this… MHA needs to explain why a Pakistani was in Ladakh.
Angmo also said that “a smokescreen is being created to defame Sonam” even though he gave the CBI and the Income Tax Department all the documents they needed to clear things up. She has also written to the President of India asking for help and the release of her husband without conditions. She says that he is being unfairly portrayed as a “anti-national.”
Sonam Wangchuk is still in Jodhpur Central Jail after being arrested under the NSA.