Sonam Wangchuk under CBI lens: Foreign funding, Pakistan trip probed amid Ladakh unrest
Leh: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has launched an inquiry into alleged violations of the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act by the Himalayan Institute of Alternatives Ladakh (HIAL), founded by educationist and activist Sonam Wangchuk, who has been at the forefront of the statehood movement in Ladakh, media reports said.
Officials said the probe began two months ago and includes scrutiny of Wangchuk’s February 6 visit to Pakistan, according to an NDTV report.
The action follows the Ladakh administration’s August decision to cancel HIAL’s land allotment, which had triggered protests, with local groups calling it an attack on Ladakh’s rights and an attempt to silence voices demanding statehood and Sixth Schedule status.
The probe coincides with accusations that Wangchuk incited violence during recent protests, said the report.
On Wednesday, four people were killed and at least 80 injured, including 40 police personnel, after clashes broke out amid a curfew in the region.
Wangchuk, who had been on a fortnight-long hunger strike, withdrew his protest after two fellow strikers were hospitalised on Tuesday night.
Soon after, the Leh Apex Body’s youth wing called for demonstrations that spiralled into arson and vandalism, with mobs attacking the BJP headquarters, the Hill Council office and vehicles.
Police and paramilitary forces used teargas to restore order.
The Ministry of Home Affairs accused Wangchuk of making “provocative statements” and misleading people with references to Arab Spring-style protests and Gen Z movements in Nepal.
“The demands on which Wangchuk was on hunger strike are integral part of the discussion in HPC. In spite of many leaders urging to call off the hunger strike, he continued with the hunger strike and misleading the people,” it said in a statement.
It stressed that the Centre has been holding multiple rounds of talks with the Leh Apex Body and Kargil Democratic Alliance through the High Powered Committee (HPC), sub-committees and informal channels, but alleged that “politically motivated” elements were trying to derail the dialogue.
Meanwhile, Congress councillor Phuntsog Stanzin Tsepag was booked for allegedly delivering a provocative speech at the hunger strike venue on Tuesday.
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