Sonam Wangchuk (File photo)
NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Monday issued notice to the NDA-led central government and the Ladakh Union Territory (UT) on a plea challenging Sonam Wangchuk’s detention after a violent protest in Ladakh in which four people were killed.The top court was hearing a plea filed by Wangchuk’s wife, Gitanjali J Angmo, reported news agency PTI.The SC, however, refused to pass an order “on providing grounds of detention to Sonam Wangchuk’s wife”.
Wangchuk, a former educationist, was detained by police on September 26, two days after violent protests erupted in Ladakh’s capital Leh over demands for statehood and inclusion under the 6th Schedule of the Constitution of India. He was transferred to a jail in faraway Jodhpur, Rajasthan, and booked under the stringent National Security Act (NSA).Authorities allege that Wangchuk “incited” the violence. At the time, he had been leading a hunger strike, which he later called off, advocating for statehood for Ladakh, a Union territory created in August 2019, and its inclusion in the 6th Schedule. On that day, a faction of mostly young protesters broke away from the peaceful agitation and engaged in clashes with security forces.
