The Central Bureau of Investigation has initiated an inquiry into alleged violations of the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act against Climate Activist Sonam Wangchuk’s institution in Ladakh, officials said on Thursday.
The inquiry has been ongoing for some time, but no FIR has been registered by the officials yet, they said.
Wangchuk said, “A CBI team came with an order about ten days ago, saying that they are acting on a complaint from the Ministry of Home Affairs regarding alleged Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA) violations in the Himalayan Institute of Alternatives Ladakh (HIAL).”
According to Wangchuk, CBI told him that he had not taken clearance to receive foreign funds under FCRA, to which he said he replied, “We don’t want to be dependent on foreign funds, but we export our knowledge and raise revenue. In three such instances, they thought it was a foreign contribution.”
He claimed he paid all the taxes to the Government of India earned from knowledge sharing with foreign institutions, including the United Nations, a Swiss university, and an Italian organisation.
“It was a very dignified assignment. They saw it and they were convinced. They understood it was not helping them, so they began asking for accounts outside that period.”
He alleged that “CBI had come to assess accounts during 2022-24, yet they overstepped their mandate and began asking for accounts from 2021 and 2020. Then they went to our school asking for various documents outside their mandate period and a school outside the complaint’s purview.”
Wangchuk said both of his schools provide free education to young and needy students. In HIAL, students are given money for their work and projects.
“The CBI officers are still camping in Ladakh and rigorously going through records,” Wangchuk said, adding that they have not questioned him.
He believes this is done to suppress his voice that he has been raising through protests, hunger strikes, and peace marches for the rights of Ladakh.
Wangchuk had started a hunger strike on September 10, pressing for Ladakh’s inclusion in the Sixth Schedule and for statehood.
Also Read: Sonam Wangchuk blames BJP U-turns for Ladakh violence
Follow us
