Held under stringent NSA, Sonam Wangchuk taken to undisclosed location: Report

Leh: Ladakh statehood activist and Ramon Magsaysay Award winner Sonam Wangchuk has been arrested under the stringent National Security Act (NSA) on charges of allegedly inciting violence with provocative remarks, NDTV reported quoting government sources.

The NSA allows prolonged preventive detention without bail. The report quoted officials saying that he could be shifted out of Ladakh tonight or tomorrow morning.

His arrest comes a day after he said he would be “happy to be arrested anytime for this cause.”

It also follows the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) cancelling the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA) registration of his NGO, the Students Educational and Cultural Movement of Ladakh (SECMOL), citing foreign funding violations.

Wangchuk has rejected the accusations, clarifying that SECMOL has not accepted foreign donations but carried out business transactions with UN agencies and organisations in Switzerland and Italy, with all due taxes paid.

“They mistook it as foreign contributions. I consider it a mistake on their part,” he told NDTV.

Tensions in Ladakh have been growing since 2019, when the region was made a Union Territory after Article 370 was scrapped. What began as initial support for the UT status has shifted to demands for statehood and inclusion under the Sixth Schedule. Critics say the lack of an elected government has deepened discontent, prompting Buddhist-majority Leh and Muslim-majority Kargil groups to unite under joint platforms.