‘State and its agencies hounding us, have us under surveillance’: Sonam Wangchuk’s wife writes to President

Gitanjali Angmo, who serves as founder and CEO of Himalayan Institute of Alternatives, Ladakh, has alleged that Wangchuk had been detained ‘without cause’, and has questioned why she wasn't allowed to speak to her husband

Written by Naveed Iqbal

Srinagar | Updated: October 2, 2025 05:21 AM IST

3 min read

Sonam Wangchuk's wife and activist Gitanjali Angmo. (Source: File)

Five days after climate activist Sonam Wangchuk’s arrest, his wife and activist Gitanjali Angmo has sent a representation to the President of India seeking Wangchuk’s immediate release.

Wangchuk was detained by police in Leh On September 26 under the National Security Act (NSA), 1980, following violent protests and the death of four people in police firing.
In her representation, Angmo, who serves as the founder and chief executive officer of Himalayan Institute of Alternatives, Ladakh (HIAL), has stated that Wangchuk has been detained “without cause” and has questioned why she wasn’t allowed to speak to her husband over the phone or in person.

“Apart from the illegal detention of my husband, the manner in which the State and its agencies are hounding us and have kept us under surveillance is deplorable. It is violative of the spirit and ethos of the Constitution of India, including Articles 21 and 22, which guarantee every citizen the fundamental right to legal representation,” Angmo said in the representation.

She said that on September 30, the security guard of the Institute received a communication containing an FIR and seeking “details the list of fellowship students of Ladakh and Hills, residential staff, teachers trainees residing at HIAL Institute, Phyang” with name, parentage, residence and latest photographs along with provide contact numbers and enrolment at the institution.

Alleging a “full scale witch hunt” against Wangchuk, Angmo has stated in her representation that “people of this country are reaching out in solidarity and support, ‘shocked’ by the Government action against a peaceful Gandhian protestor with an impeccable track record of service to the nation.”

Asserting her husband’s contribution to building effective shelters for the Indian Army and the “nationalism” of the Ladakhi people, Angmo said that “to treat the son of the soil of Ladakh so shabbily is not just a sin but a strategic error for building strong borders with solidarity and peaceful coexistence”.

Her husband “has always stood for the solidarity of India and the strengthening of our borders and the integration of its peripheral regions through a strong democratic mechanism — Statehood/UT with legislation and 6th Schedule”, she said.

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Urging the president to consider “an unconditional release” of Wangchuk, she said that “a person who can never be a threat to anyone, leave alone his nation”. Angmo has also sent copies of the representation to the Prime Minister’s Office, the Ministry of Home Affairs, the Law Ministry and the office of the LG of Ladakh.

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