Delhi Chief Minister Atishi was not allowed to visit detained Ladakh activist Sonam Wangchuk at the Bawana Police Station on Tuesday. Reaching there at around 1 pm, Atishi faced massive police deployment, the Aam Aadmi Party said in a tweet. The supporters of Wangchuk, too, were detained in different police facilities on the Delhi-Haryana border.
Wangchuk is leading this ‘Delhi Chalo Padyatra’ that started a month ago from Leh. He is demanding that the Central Government start dialogue with the leadership of Ladakh over their demands. Before his detention on Monday night, Wangchuk informed his followers about his development via X, formerly known as Twitter.
A police official said Wangchuk and his group had planned to camp for the night near the border. Since prohibitory orders were in place in Delhi, they were initially told to go back, but they refused to, and close to 120 people were detained.
The Delhi Police issued Section 163 of the BNS, which prohibits more than four people from assembling in order to maintain public order. Wangchuk was at the Singhu border when this prohibition was issued.
Congress Chief Mallikarjun Kharge termed the police action “cowardly” because the government did not adopt a peaceful approach to detaining peaceful citizens from Ladakh. Kharge underlined the public support in Ladakh for protection under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution and charged the government with exploiting the region’s ecological resources.
The leader of the Opposition, Rahul Gandhi, also expressed his objection, calling the detentions “inexcusable.” He asked what the justification was for detaining elderly citizens fighting for Ladakh’s future and environmental rights. A plea was filed before the Delhi High Court seeking Wangchuk’s release. The High Court listed the hearing of the petition for October 3.
