Leh (Ladakh) [India], November 13 (ANI): Climate activist Sonam Wangchuk has alleged that he had been placed under house arrest, claiming that dozens of armed guards had been deployed outside his residence.
He also questioned the delay in the Judicial Enquiry Commission report into last year's killings in Leh. Over four civilians were killed on September 24, 2025, during protests in Leh while they were demanding statehood and constitutional protections under the Sixth Schedule.
In a post on X, Wangchuk said that while the government maintained that he had been advised to "stay at home", armed personnel had surrounded his house. He linked the alleged restrictions to his questions over the delayed inquiry report and the conduct of Council elections in Ladakh.
"I am under house arrest...Dozens of armed guards surround my house while the government version says 'I have been advised to stay at home'. All for asking uncomfortable questions like... why is the Judicial Enquiry Commission Report (of last year's killings in Leh) is delayed & a phoney Council election is foisted on people with rocket speed in mid-winter," the post read.
I AM UNDER HOUSE ARREST Dozens of armed guards surround my house while the government version says 'I have been advised to stay at home'. All for asking uncomfortable questions like... why is the Judicial Enquiry Commission Report (of last year's killings in Leh) is delayed & a phoney Council election is foisted on people with rocket speed in mid winter. Whole of Ladakh is in protest. My X, Instagram & YouTube reach have been drastically suppressed in the world's largest democracy. Please help share this message...
— Sonam Wangchuk (@Wangchuk66) November 12, 2026
"The whole of Ladakh is in protest. My X, Instagram & YouTube reach have been drastically suppressed in the world's largest democracy. Please help share this message...," he added.
Earlier, on November 5, Wangchuk had criticised the Ladakh administration over a notice directing the Himalayan Institute of Alternative Learning (HIAL) not to undertake any further activities at Desert Flower School in Phyang until the matter was decided by the High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.
In a post on X, Wangchuk described the notice as a "shahi farmaan" and questioned the administration's decision, saying, "Close schools and open liquor bars".
He also urged media organisations that had carried the press conference by the Lieutenant Governor's administration to provide space for his response, referring to India's position on the Global Press Freedom Index.
"Let's hope that the media houses that carried the presser from the LG Administration so eagerly will also be just and fair enough to carry our response too and prove to the nation that India is still not so poor on the Global Press Freedom Index," he wrote.
Defending HIAL, Wangchuk said the institution's work had received recognition from India's Parliamentary Committee on Education, the Victoria and Albert Museum in London and Time magazine.
The Ladakh administration had issued a notice to HIAL, asking it not to undertake any further activities at Desert Flower School in Phyang until the matter was decided by the High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. (ANI)
