Sonam Wangchuk’s wife Gitanjali Angmo has been alleging a “witch hunt” against the jailed activist. Jailed activist Sonam Wangchuk’s wife Gitanjali Angmo wrote to President Droupadi Murmu on Wednesday, appealing to her tribal background to understand the feelings of the people of Ladakh against the backdrop of the protests and her husband’s arrest.
In the letter, which she also sent to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah, Angmo calls for an “unconditional release” of Sonam Wangchuk, whom she described as a “peaceful Gandhian protester” agitating for climate change and upliftment of a backward tribal belt.
Sonam Wangchuk was arrested in Leh last week following the violent protests over the demand for extension of protections under Sixth Schedule and statehood to Ladakh. He was charged under the stringent National Security Act (NSA) and shifted to the Jodhpur Central Jail. Wangchuk’s wife has been alleging a “witch hunt” against the jailed activist.
Angmo said that on September 26, Leh Inspector Rigzin Gurmet informed her that Wangchuk had been detained under Section 3(2) of the NSA, and that he was being shifted to Jodhpur Central Jail. She said that ASP Rishabh Shukla, who they said was accompanying Wangchuk to Jodhpur, would make her speak with him upon landing. “He also informed me that it is not an arrest as there is no FIR, but a detention under NSA,” Angmo added.
However, Wangchuk’s wife said, the officer has not called her or made her speak with the jailed activist to date. She said she was told that the officer would explain her legal rights, which Angmo claimed has also not been done. Further, Agmo claimed that she was put under CRPF surveillance in Village Phyang, where her institute, the Himalayan Institute of Alternatives (HIAL), is situated.
Gitanjali Angmo is the founder and CEO of HIAL, Ladakh.
“Two members of the Institute were taken into police custody over the past three days, presumably without any authority of law,” she wrote in her letter. Gitanjali Angmo wrote that Sonam Wangchuk was not allowed to take his clothes at the time of detention. “I am not aware whether he has been given fresh clothes and basic amenities including medicines that he needs on a daily basis, especially after his fast of 15 days in September 2025 that has weakened him physically,” she added.
Wangchuk’s wife said she received a copy of the communication at her Institute on Tuesday, which informed her about an FIR and sought cooperation in the investigation. “A full-scale witch hunt has been unleashed for the past one month in particular, and for the past four years covertly, to kill the spirit of my husband and all the causes he stands for and espouses,” Angmo wrote.
Wangchuk’s wife asked President Murmu, “Is it a crime to speak about climate change, melting glaciers, educational reforms and grassroot innovation? To raise one’s voice for the upliftment of a backward tribal belt, which is ecologically fragile, in a peaceful Gandhian manner for the last four years? It certainly cannot be termed as a threat to national security”.
Angmo said that people of the country are reaching out to her in solidarity and support, and are “shocked” by the Centre’s action against “a peaceful Gandhian protester with an impeccable track record of service to the nation”.
