- Sonam Wangchuk claims house arrest by armed guards in Leh.
- Questions delayed judicial inquiry into last year's Leh killings.
- Police advised him to stay home due to election prohibitory orders.
Climate activist Sonam Wangchuk has alleged that he has been placed under house arrest, claiming that dozens of armed guards have been deployed outside his residence and had been advised to stay at home.
He also questioned the delay in the Judicial Inquiry Commission's report into last year's killings in Leh. Four civilians were killed on September 24, 2025, during protests in Leh, where people were demanding statehood for Ladakh and constitutional safeguards under the Sixth Schedule.
This comes after Ladakh Police on Wednesday removed Wangchuk from the protest site and escorted him to his residence, advising him to remain indoors. Along with leaders of Leh Apex Body and Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA), Wangchuk expressed resentment over the holding of hill council elections on December 4, citing harsh winter conditions and large-scale seasonal migration.
The police said the preventive action against Wangchuk was taken in compliance with orders regulating public rallies, protests and other public gatherings within the limits of Leh Municipality amid the ongoing election exercise.
In a post on X, Ladakh Director General of Police, Anand Jain said, "Sonam Wangchuk has been advised to stay at his residence in view of the prohibitory orders issued by the Chief Electoral Officer, UT Ladakh, and the District Magistrate, Leh".
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Before the elections to the eight Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Councils (LAHDC), Ladakh is also going for Municipal and Panchayat elections on November 21.
The LAB and KDA, which are spearheading an agitation in support of various demands including constitutional safeguards and statehood and engaged in dialogue with the Centre, appealed to the President of India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi, and Union Home Minister Amit Shah to help defer the LAHDC election.
The new agitation comes months after Wangchuk led a 26-day hunger strike during protests over NEET exam irregularities in July, which led to former Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan stepping down.
What Wangchuk Said
In a post on X, Wangchuk claimed that he was under house arrest and that armed personnel had surrounded his residence. He said the government maintained that he had only been advised to stay at home.
He linked the alleged restrictions to his questions about the delay in the inquiry report into last year's killings in Leh and the conduct of the recent Council elections in Ladakh.
I AM UNDER HOUSE ARREST Dozens of armed guards surround my house while the government version says 'I have been advised to stay at home'. All for asking uncomfortable questions like... why is the Judicial Enquiry Commission Report (of last year's killings in Leh) is delayed & a phoney Council election is foisted on people with rocket speed in mid winter. Whole of Ladakh is in protest. My X, Instagram & YouTube reach have been drastically suppressed in the world's largest democracy. Please help share this message...
— Sonam Wangchuk (@Wangchuk66) November 12, 2026
In his post, he wrote, "I am under house arrest...Dozens of armed guards surround my house while the government version says, 'I have been advised to stay at home.' All for asking uncomfortable questions like... why is the Judicial Enquiry Commission Report (of last year's killings in Leh) delayed & a phoney Council election is foisted on people with rocket speed in mid-winter."
"The whole of Ladakh is in protest. My X, Instagram & YouTube reach have been drastically suppressed in the world's largest democracy. Please help share this message..." he added.
Wangchuk's Earlier Criticism Of Ladakh Administration
Earlier, on November 5, Wangchuk had criticised the Ladakh administration over a notice directing the Himalayan Institute of Alternative Learning (HIAL) not to carry out any further activities at Desert Flower School in Phyang until the matter was decided by the High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.
In a post on X, Wangchuk described the notice as a "shahi farmaan" and questioned the administration's decision, saying, "Close schools and open liquor bars".
He also urged media organisations that had covered the Lieutenant Governor's administration's press conference to give his side of the story equal space. Referring to India's position in the Global Press Freedom Index, he called for fair media coverage.
"Let's hope that the media houses that carried the presser from the LG Administration so eagerly will also be just and fair enough to carry our response too and prove to the nation that India is still not so poor on the Global Press Freedom Index," he wrote.
Defending HIAL, Wangchuk said the institution's work had received recognition from India's Parliamentary Committee on Education, the Victoria and Albert Museum in London and Time magazine.
The Ladakh administration had issued a notice directing HIAL not to undertake any further activities at Desert Flower School in Phyang until the matter was decided by the High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.