The Indian police arrested the prominent activist Sonam Wangchuk for violent protests in the territory of Ladakh who left at least five dead people, said a lawyer.
The manifestations that demand greater political autonomy for the scarcely populated region and a great altitude that limits with China and Pakistan became mortal on Wednesday when the security forces opened fire.
Nueva Delhi blamed the riots to the “provocative speeches” of Wangchuk, who had been in a hunger strike demanding complete federal status by Ladakh or constitutional protections for his tribal communities, land and fragile environment.
Mustafa Haji, a lawyer from the body of the apex Leh, who is leading the protests, said AFP that Wangchuk was “collected” by the police of his people of Uley Tokpo on Friday.
“The charges against them are not yet known,” Haji said.
A training engineer, Wangchuk, 59, is better known for pioneering water conservation projects in the Himalayas.
He received the prestigious Ramon Magsaysay award in 2018 for his environmental work and contributions to the reform of local education in Ladakh. It is said that his life and work inspired a character played by Bollywood Aamir Khan star in the greatly popular film. Three idiots.
Wangchuk, who is a vocal defender of Environmental Protection and Tribal Rights of Ladakh, was briefly arrested by the Delhi police last year during a protest march. The Indian authorities canceled on Thursday the foreign financing license of their non -profit organization.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Pakistan (FO) said today that it is monitoring the situation.
“The developments that were developed in Leh, illegally occupied Indians Jammu and Kashmir Dawn.com. They demonstrate the will of the Indian authorities to go to any extent to stop a protest. They are also another manifestation of the iron fist approach to India in that occupied territory. “
The Modi government separated Ladakh from Cashmiro occupied in 2019, imposing a direct rule to both.
Nueva Delhi has not yet fulfilled its promise to include Ladakh in the “sixth schedule” of the Constitution of India, which allows people to make their own laws and policies.
The Army of India maintains a great presence in Ladakh, which includes border areas in dispute with China. The troops of the two countries collided there in 2020, killing at least 20 Indian soldiers and four Chinese.
Additional Abdullah Momand reports
