Civil society groups and activists on Tuesday (September 30, 2025) demanded the release of climate activist Sonam Wangchuk who was detained under the National Security Act (NSA) on September 26 following violent protests in Ladakh that left four persons dead in police action.

Gitanjali Angmo, wife of climate activist Sonam Wangchuk, speaking in New Delhi, Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2025.
| Photo Credit:
PTI

Addressing a press conference, Gitanjali Angmo, Mr. Wangchuk’s wife, said she had not been able to contact her husband nor had the police provided her a copy of the NSA order yet. Mr. Wangchuk is being detained at the Jodhpur central jail.

The Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA) said on Tuesday (September 30, 2025) that following the Leh Apex Body’s (LAB) announcement a day ago, the KDA too will not participate in any meeting with the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) until Mr. Wangchuk and others are released and a judicial inquiry is ordered into last week’s police firing in Leh.

KDA co-chairman Asgar Ali Karbalai said the alliance is “constantly in touch” with the LAB. “If the government of India thinks they can silence Ladakhis by scaring them, they are wrong, we will not sit quietly,” he said. “If you want to kill my brother and talk to me, it is not possible.” A major point of contention raised by the leaders was the alleged portrayal of Ladakhis as “anti-nationals” by government sympathisers.

Ladakh MP Mohmad Haneefa said, “A narrative is being spread that, despite the sacrifices that people of Ladakh have made… they are trying to portray us as anti-national.”

Supreme Court advocate Prashant Bhushan said Mr. Wangchuk did not instigate the violence rather he called off his hunger strike after coming to know that violence had erupted in Leh on September 24.

“His arrest has hurt the people of Ladakh more. As per rules, a copy of the detention order is to be given within five days, it has not happened yet. Both the LAB and the KDA have refused to talk to the government till he is released. He was never against the Modi government, he has been demanding (Statehood and sixth schedule) for the past six years,” Mr. Bhushan said.

Political activist Yogendra Yadav also demanded his immediate release.