Two days after Sonam Wangchuk was jailed under NSA, his wife Gitanjali Angmo has trashed allegations of “Pakistan link” and financial irregularities against him. Terming the charge that Wangchuk incited the violence in Leh as “misplaced”, she claimed that he has been protesting in the “most Gandhian way possible” and the “situation escalated” on September 24 due to the actions of the CRPF.
Police detained climate activist Wangchuk on Friday under the stringent National Security Act (NSA), two days after protests demanding Sixth Schedule status and statehood for Ladakh turned violent in Leh last Wednesday, claiming four lives and injuring 90 others.Wangchuk, a key figure in the five-year-long agitation for Ladakh’s rights whose detention drew strong reactions from different quarters, has been lodged in prison in Jodhpur, Rajasthan.Talking to a news agency, Angmo, the co-founder of Himalayan Institute of Alternative Learning (HIAL), said she has not been able to communicate with her husband since his detention and dismissed all allegations against the climate activist and their institutions.
Claiming that they have not been handed over a copy of the detention order, Angmo said, “They promised to send it on Friday. We will take legal recourse.” Ladakh DGP S D Singh Jamwal has said Wangchuk is being probed for allegedly having links with Pakistan on the back of last month’s arrest of a Pakistani Intelligence Operative (PIO) who sent videos of his protests across the border.
The police chief also cited some of Wangchuk’s “suspicious” foreign trips, including to Pakistan to attend an event by The Dawn.
Angmo, however, clarified that their recent visit to the neighbouring country was purely professional and climate-focused.
Denouncing the allegations of Pakistan links involving her husband, she said all of Wangchuk’s overseas visits were made on the invitation of reputed universities and institutions.
Angmo gave details of her husband's foreign tours with clarity, saying at no point of time rules have been violated by Wangchuk.
“We attended a conference organised by the United Nations, and it was on climate change. Angmo also challenged the slapping of the stringent NSA on Wangchuk, which allows detention without a trial for up to 12 months, citing his long record of peaceful protests.
“I think it is a very wrong charge. Sonam certainly is not a threat to any public order,” Angmo said. She claimed that Wangchuk advocated for his cause in the “most Gandhian way possible” over the last five years, reminding the government of its promises to Ladakhis, and all through maintaining that the protest organised by the Leh Apex Body was peaceful, and the charge that Wangchuk incited the violence was misplaced.
“We have videos to show that the students and the youth were just there for a peaceful protest. Sonam did not even know about (a non-peaceful plan),” she claimed, adding, “He only knew about a peaceful protest. But when the CRPF personnel fired tear gas shells, the youth reacted by pelting stones, and the whole situation escalated.” Angmo also questioned the response by the security forces, saying, “My question is, who gave the CRPF the right to open fire? Why should you open fire on your own people, on your own youth?” On the allegation that Wangchuk made a provocative speech, Angmo claimed his Ladakhi words were taken out of context and mistranslated.
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