Within minutes of the Ladakh Police arresting climate activist Sonam Wangchuk for his alleged involvement in Wednesday's violence, the Leh Apex Body (LAB) stated that the September 24 incident was a spontaneous reaction of agitated youth and that the senior leadership had failed to prevent the situation from escalating.
Speaking to the media after Wangchuk's arrest, LAB co-chairman and former minister Cherring Dorjey admitted that the youth present at the venue of Wangchuk's hunger strike became uncontrollable on Wednesday, as anger mounted after two participants of the strike were hospitalized.
"Usually, not more than 500 people participated in the hunger strike, but on Wednesday, nearly 6,000 to 7,000 people turned up at the venue, the majority of them youth," Dorjey said, acknowledging that within no time these young people moved outside the venue and resorted to violence.
"First of all, they attacked the office of the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC) Leh, followed by arson at the BJP office," he said, adding, "We failed to control the mob that day."
Dorjey, however, denied allegations that either the Congress party or Sonam Wangchuk was responsible for Wednesday's violence.
As reported earlier, Ladakh Police on Friday arrested climate activist Sonam Wangchuk on charges of inciting violence in Leh. Four people were killed and over 80 others injured during the violent protest in Leh town and adjoining areas, following a bandh call given by several youth organizations.
Home Ministry blames Wangchuk for violence
As reported earlier, after Wednesday's violence, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) directly blamed Sonam Wangchuk for the unprecedented unrest in Leh town.
"It is clear that the mob was incited by Sonam Wangchuk through his provocative statements. Incidentally, amidst these violent developments, he broke his fast and left for his village in an ambulance without making serious efforts to control the situation," the MHA stated in its official handout after the incident.
The ministry noted that Wangchuk had launched a hunger strike on September 10, 2025, demanding statehood and inclusion of Ladakh under the Sixth Schedule.
"It is well known that the Government of India has been actively engaged with the Apex Body Leh and the Kargil Democratic Alliance on the same issues. A series of meetings was held with them through the formal channel of the High-Powered Committee as well as the Sub-committee, along with multiple informal interactions with leaders," the statement said.
In an apparent reference to Wangchuk, the government added that certain politically motivated individuals were unhappy with the progress made under the High-Powered Committee (HPC) and had been attempting to sabotage the dialogue process.
"The demands on which Wangchuk was on hunger strike are an integral part of the HPC discussions. Despite many leaders urging him to call off the hunger strike, he continued and misled people through provocative mentions of Arab Spring-style protests and references to Gen Z protests in Nepal," the handout read.
It further added: "On September 24, around 11:30 a.m., a mob instigated by his provocative speeches left the venue of the hunger strike and attacked a political party office as well as the office of the CEC in Leh. They also set these offices on fire, attacked security personnel, and torched a police vehicle."
FCRA license of Wangchuk's NGO cancelled
On Thursday, the Ministry of Home Affairs cancelled the FCRA registration of the Students Educational and Cultural Movement of Ladakh (SECMOL), citing repeated violations of the Act.
According to the MHA order, SECMOL was found guilty of multiple financial irregularities, including irregular deposits and misuse of foreign funds. The association allegedly showed Rs 3.35 lakh as foreign donations without reflecting the amount in its designated FCRA account and wrongly deposited Rs 54,600 from local sources into the same account. The ministry further noted that funds were received from foreign donors for activities linked to sovereignty issues, terming it a matter "against national interest."
The order also pointed out that SECMOL refunded Rs 19,600 to a donor in violation of FCRA provisions and failed to properly account for Rs 79,200 deducted from staff salaries.
"These repeated violations constitute a serious breach of the Act," the MHA concluded, announcing immediate cancellation of the organisation's licence. The cancellation bars SECMOL from receiving or utilising any foreign contributions henceforth.
