Leh Police on Friday arrested activist Sonam Wangchuk, two days after violent protests over statehood for Ladakh left at least four people dead and 90 others injured.
Wangchuk has been accused of inciting violence through provocative statements. He earlier said he did not fear arrest for the cause he was fighting.
“It is as sad as the incident itself, the way they are dealing with the issue in a childish way,” Wangchuk told The Hindu, adding that authorities were trying to make him a “scapegoat.”
“This is not the way to heal a wound. It will further aggravate the situation, it will further anger the youth. After doing all this to us—for six years of joblessness, of unmet promises—they are now just blaming me for everything,” he said.
The protest was led by Wangchuk along with the Leh Apex Body and the Kargil Democratic Alliance. The groups are demanding full statehood for the Union Territory and its inclusion under the Sixth Schedule of the Indian Constitution.
Wangchuk had launched a hunger strike on 10 September to press for the demands. He ended the fast on 24 September, citing concerns over rising violence.
Who is Sonam Wangchuk?
As per the Nobel Prize’s website, Sonam Wangchuk is an engineer by education. He is the inventor of the Ice Stupa artificial glacier for storing water.
Sonam Wangchuk works on education reform in the trans-Himalayan region of Ladakh, India.
In 1988, he founded SECMOL (Students’ Educational and Cultural Movement of Ladakh), which aimed to bring reforms in the government school system in the trans-Himalayan region of Ladakh, India, reads the website.
