Leh, Mar 14: Leaders from Ladakh on Saturday welcomed climate activist Sonam Wangchuk’s release from Jodhpur jail and demanded the release of remaining detainees.
Wangchuk was released from prison on Saturday after the Union government revoked his detention with immediate effect.
Ladakh MP Mohamad Hanifa hailed his release and urged the government to accept their demands for statehood and protection under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution.
“We welcome the release of Sonam Wangchuk. But others also need to be released, and the government should also take back the cases filed against people who participated in the protests,” Hanifa said.
Hanifa, however, said protest is a Constitutional right, and urged the government to resolve the issue through dialogue.
The Leh Apex Body (LAB) described the decision of his release as a “big victory” for the people of Ladakh, saying it vindicated their stand on his innocence and removed the “anti-national” blot on the region.
LAB co-chairman Chering Dorjey said the government “saved its face” by revoking Wangchuk’s detention ahead of the Supreme Court hearing later this month, asserting that the peaceful struggle for statehood for Ladakh and its inclusion in the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution will continue.
Kargil-based politician and Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA) member Sajjad Kargili, in a post on X, demanded the immediate release of Deldan Namgial and Smanla Dorjey, and appealed to the government to drop all charges against other detainees unconditionally.
“The revocation of NSA against Shri Sonam Wangchuk is a welcome move. However, our struggle of our legitimate rights continues,” he said.
The Centre on Saturday said it had revoked with immediate effect the detention of Wangchuk under the National Security Act (NSA), nearly six months after he was arrested following violent protests in Leh that left four dead.
The decision, which the Centre said was to foster peace in Ladakh, comes days after the Supreme Court on Tuesday adjourned to March 17 the hearing on a plea filed by the activist’s wife, Gitanjali J Angmo, challenging his detention.
Wangchuk was detained on September 26, 2025, two days after the protests over demands for statehood for Ladakh and its inclusion under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution rocked Leh.
“This is not just about Wangchuk but about the whole of Ladakh. We had maintained from the start that the allegations against him, including the anti-national charge, were baseless. Today, Ladakh stands vindicated. We welcome the decision, and it will give fresh momentum to our movement,” Dorjey told reporters here.
LAB and the Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA) are spearheading the agitation in Ladakh in support of their statehood and the Sixth Schedule demands, and are engaged in high-level talks with the Ministry of Home Affairs.
In a February 4 meeting of the High-Powered Committee chaired by Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai, the two prominent groups demanded the release of Wangchuk, besides asserting other demands.
Calling the development a major relief, he said the people of Ladakh felt hurt by the anti-national allegations made against them. “We are among the most nationalist people in the country, yet we were branded anti-national for the first time. It was a serious blot on Ladakh… We believe the case was withdrawn before the March 17 hearing as the same outcome was expected from the Supreme Court,” the LAB leader said.
Dorjey said their main demands remained unchanged and the struggle would continue, asserting that the group will take a call on the proposed protest rally in both Leh and Kargil on March 16 in the wake of an appeal by Chief Secretary Ashish Kundra.
“I met the new Lt Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena, where the chief secretary was also present. I informed the administration that the decision to hold the rally was not his alone, but a collective decision. I will convey their message to the LAB members and a decision would be communicated accordingly,” he said.
He said the two other detained leaders are expected to be granted bail at the next hearing in the court on March 23.
On some representatives speaking against the demand of statehood and the Sixth Schedule in the last meeting with the Centre, he said, “In this matter, what I feel is that some people who speak against our demands seem to have exactly the same viewpoint as the government.
“So I think these people have been created by the government to create division among us. We know that this is something governments usually do everywhere, so we are aware of it, and the people of Ladakh also know who truly represents them. Therefore, such things keep happening,” he said. (Agencies)
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