Leh violence: Police question Sonam Wangchuk’s Pakistan visits

The police are now probing activist Sonam Wangchuk’s alleged connection with Pakistan, questioning his visits to the neighbouring country as well as Bangladesh. The fresh turn in the ongoing investigation into the violent protest in Leh that claimed four lives was revealed by the Ladakh Director General of Police (DGP), SD Singh Jamwal, on Saturday (September 27).

‘Wanhchuk visited Pakistan’

Speaking to reporters, Jamwal said that recently the police arrested a Pakistan PIO who was in contact with Wangchuk and was reporting across the border. The DGP said that since Wangchuk had attended an event by The Dawn newspaper in Pakistan and also visited Bangladesh, there is a question mark on his actions.

"We arrested a Pakistan PIO in the recent past who was reporting back across. We have a record of this. He (Sonam Wanghchuk) had attended a Dawn event in Pakistan. He also visited Bangladesh. So, there is a big question mark on him...Investigation is being done,” the DGP said as quoted by ANI.

Also Read: Activist Sonam Wangchuk in Jodhpur jail after arrest under NSA

‘Has a history of instigating’

The DGP accused Wangchuk of instigating the violence in Leh, adding that he has a history of such activities and had referred to the Arab Spring and the protests in Nepal and Bangladesh in his speeches.

"Sonam Wangchuk has had a history of instigating. He has referred to the Arab Spring, Nepal and Bangladesh. The investigation into his funding is going on for FCRA violation," he said.

Elaborating further on the possibility of foreign involvement in the violent protest in Leh, the DGP said that recently two more people were held in relation to the case, adding that it was yet to be ascertained whether they were part of some design.

“During the investigation, two more people were caught. If they are part of some design, I cannot say. This place has a history of Nepalese people working as labourers, so we will have to investigate,” said Jamwal, adding provocative speeches were made by "so-called environmental activists", leading to the violence in Leh.

Also Read: Why was Sonam Wangchuk arrested under NSA? What govt says

‘Tried to derail talks with Centre’

The DGP also accused Wangchuk of delivering provocative speeches and trying to derail the talks with the Centre. "An unfortunate incident occurred on September 24. Four lives were lost, and a large number of civilians, police officers and paramilitary officers were injured. There were attempts to sabotage these ongoing processes (talks with the Centre),” he said.

"This involved some so-called environmental activists; there is a question mark on their credibility as well. They tried to hijack the platform, and the prime name here is Sonam Wangchuk, who has earlier also delivered such statements and worked to derail the process," added the DGP.

Also Read: What led to Ladakh unrest, and why was Sonam Wangchuk arrested? | Capital Beat

Leh body denies foreign involvement

The development comes a day after Leh Apex Body (LAB) co-chairman Chering Dorjay rejected the involvement of a "foreign hand" in the violence and demanded a judicial probe into the incident that claimed four lives and left 90 people injured.

He alleged that police and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel fired indiscriminately on the protesters, without making any attempt to control the unruly mob through other means like the use of water cannons or firing warning shots.

"We have made it clear that if the home ministry does not call us on time for talks, we will intensify our agitation. We have also said that our movement will be peaceful and non-violent," Dorjay told reporters in Leh.

Also read: Ladakh MP demands judicial probe into police firing during protest

7,000 people instead of usual 500

He also said that normally, around 500 people used to visit the hunger-strike venue on a daily basis but on September 24, more than 7,500 people, mostly youngsters, unexpectedly came to the venue and "went out of control".

"We tried to stop them from going outside the venue as we had no plans to take out a march. Our chairman, Thupstan Chhewang, also tried to intervene while we asked our youth leaders to stop them.

"At the beginning, they started throwing stones at the Hill Development Council office and later, went to a nearby BJP office and vandalised it," Dorjay said.

"We tried to convince them not to do this but they did not agree. In the meantime, police started firing indiscriminately. There was no prior warning, no use of tear-gas shells or water cannon or anything like that. They fired directly, which further angered the youngsters, who were aged between 15 and 26 years and looked educated and belonging to poor families," he said.

Also read: Ladakh protests: Centre cancels Wangchuk-led SECMOL's FCRA licence

'Mob not armed, did not touch Tricolour'

The LAB co-chairman dismissed claims that the mob was armed as "completely wrong".

"There was an attempt to give it an anti-national colour. When they attacked the BJP office, they removed all the party flags but did not touch the national flag. They even removed the photographs of B R Ambedkar and our revered religious figure, Lama Kushok Bakula, before setting it on fire," he said, adding that many among the protesters were carrying the tricolour.

Dorjay said some people, including Ladakh Lieutenant Governor Kavinder Gupta, have claimed that there was a foreign hand in the violence.

"To justify their claim, they are saying that the people of Doda (in Jammu and Kashmir), Nepal, Tibet and Bihar were among those injured.... This shows that they were not part of the protest. These people were bystanders. Nowadays, the population of outsiders is more in Leh. If you shoot blindly, the outsiders can also get hurt," he said.

Also read: Four years of protests and Centre’s apathy: Why Ladakh exploded

'Excessive use of force'

The LAB co-chairman pointed out that some people are claiming that Wangchuk and Congress leaders instigated the protesters. "According to us, this narrative is completely wrong. When people saw that the government was not serious at all, they got angry and vented their anger out," he said.

He alleged that the CRPF personnel, who were recently brought from outside deployed in Leh, beat up bystanders mercilessly. "Among the injured, 95 per cent have been hit by bullets or pellets, showing that there was excessive use of force. The presence of the CRPF was part of the plan to suppress our movement," Dorjay said.

Pointing out that several agencies are working in Ladakh, he said, "If the LG is saying there is a foreign hand, then what were these agencies doing? They are saying this to hide their mistakes."

(With agency inputs)