Sonam Wangchuk Alleges House Arrest in Ladakh, Says Armed Guards Surround His Home

Climate activist Sonam Wangchuk alleged on Friday that he had been placed under house arrest in Ladakh, saying dozens of armed guards had been deployed outside his residence. In a post on X, Wangchuk said the government’s account was that he had been advised to “stay at home”.

“I am under house arrest,” Wangchuk wrote. “Dozens of armed guards surround my house.”

Wangchuk said the alleged restrictions followed his questions about why a judicial inquiry report into last year’s killings in Leh had been delayed while council elections were being pushed ahead in winter. He also alleged that the reach of his posts on X, Instagram and YouTube had been sharply curtailed and asked supporters to share his message.

Wangchuk questions delay in Leh protest inquiry

The judicial inquiry concerns the deaths of civilians during protests in Leh on September 24, 2025. Protesters were demanding statehood for Ladakh and constitutional safeguards under the Sixth Schedule.

Wangchuk questioned why the commission’s findings had yet to come out. In the same post, he criticised the pace at which the council elections were being organised, calling them a “phoney Council election”.

A separate dispute over a school in Phyang

The house arrest allegation came days after Wangchuk criticised a Ladakh administration notice directing the Himalayan Institute of Alternative Learning (HIAL) to halt further activities at Desert Flower School in Phyang until the High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh decides the matter.

On November 5, Wangchuk called the notice a “shahi farmaan” (royal decree). He urged news organisations that had covered the Lieutenant Governor’s administration’s press conference to give his response space as well.

Defending HIAL’s work, Wangchuk said it had received recognition from India’s Parliamentary Committee on Education, London’s Victoria and Albert Museum and Time magazine.

With inputs from ANI