CBI Targets Ladakh Activist Sonam Wangchuk Over Foreign Funding, Pakistan Visit Amid 'Full Statehood' Protests

Leh: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has initiated a probe into alleged violations of the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act by the Himalayan Institute of Alternatives Ladakh (HIAL), founded by educationist and activist Sonam Wangchuk.

Officials said the inquiry, launched two months ago, is also reviewing Wangchuk’s visit to Pakistan on February 6. The activist has been at the forefront of demands for Ladakh’s statehood and the extension of the Sixth Schedule, and recently ended a hunger strike.

Have a look at Wangchuk's statement on the same here:

How Protests Rose

In August, the Ladakh administration cancelled a land allotment to HIAL, sparking sharp criticism from local groups that labelled the move an attempt to stifle voices seeking constitutional safeguards. The developments coincide with accusations against Wangchuk of inciting violent protests over the statehood issue.

On Wednesday, clashes left four people dead and at least 80 injured, including 40 security personnel, after youths engaged in arson, vandalised offices of the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Hill Council, and set vehicles ablaze. Police and paramilitary forces used teargas to disperse the crowds under a district-wide curfew.

The Leh Apex Body youth wing had called for the protest following the hospitalisation of two hunger strikers. Wangchuk withdrew from his own fortnight-long strike shortly before the violence. The Ministry of Home Affairs alleged that his “provocative mention of Arab Spring-style protest and references to Gen Z protests in Nepal” misled people and undermined ongoing talks with Ladakhi groups through the High Powered Committee (HPC).

Congress councillor Phuntsog Stanzin Tsepag has also been charged for allegedly making an inflammatory speech at the strike venue.

Allegations of Provocation

The Centre maintained that it has been holding multiple rounds of formal and informal meetings with the Leh Apex Body and the Kargil Democratic Alliance, but accused “politically motivated individuals” of sabotaging the dialogue. It argued that the statehood and Sixth Schedule demands were already part of HPC discussions.

For local groups, however, the crackdown and the probe against Wangchuk represent a deepening sense of disenfranchisement in the Union Territory. Many argue that targeting activists for pushing democratic demands is an assault on Ladakh’s aspirations for greater autonomy and protections promised under the Constitution.