NEW DELHI: Ladakh-based climate activist and education reformer Sonam Wangchuk is being let off on Wednesday after being detained for nearly 24 hours.
Wangchuk and the other Ladakhis had been initially detained on Monday night but were released the next night. However, a senior official told news agency PTI that, they remained resolute in their determination to march towards the heart of Delhi.As a result, the police found it necessary to detain them once again
The officer provided this information to the news agency, explaining the sequence of events that led to the re-detention of the group. The Ladakhis, led by Wangchuk, were unwavering in their commitment to continue their march despite their initial release.
The released activists will now be taken to Rajghat on three to four buses.
Wangchuk along with 173 others, who were on way to the national capital as part of their Delhi Chalo Padyatra demanding sixth schedule status for the UT, were detained by Delhi Police at the Singhu border on Monday night for allegedly “violating prohibitory orders”.
The detainees who were housed in police stations in Bawana, Narela and Kanjhawala, began an indefinite hunger strike in protest against their detention.
Wangchuk is on a march from Leh on September 1st, advocating for Ladakh’s inclusion in the Constitution’s Sixth Schedule.This inclusion would provide special protection for tribal regions in Ladakh.
However, his journey faced an obstacle at the Delhi border.In a post on Monday, Wangchuk said, “I am being detained, along with 150 padyatris, at the Delhi border by a police force of hundreds, some say a thousand. Many elderly men and women in their 80s and a few dozen Army veterans. Our fate is unknown. We were on a most peaceful march to Bapu’s samadhi in the largest democracy in the world, the mother of democracy. Hai Ram!”
The activist and his fellow marchers, which included elderly individuals and army veterans, were on a peaceful journey to Rajghat when they were stopped and detained by a large police force.