Climate activist Sonam Wangchuk has claimed that he is under house arrest in Leh, the headquarters of Ladakh, as peaceful protests against the scheduled Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council elections continue across the union territory. Wangchuk says dozens of armed guards surround his residence, which is located at his institute in Leh.
The protests are directed at the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council elections for eight councils, for which the administration has notified polling on December 4. Wangchuk opposes holding the polls in December, arguing that winter conditions make voting difficult and force students and residents to leave the region. He has demanded that the elections be postponed. Peaceful dharnas were held in Leh, and organisers planned to continue them the following day. Wangchuk says the protests have spread to the wider Ladakh region.
Wangchuk has made several further allegations. He says his reach on social media has been suppressed, and that men claiming to be police, who were masked, stopped a dharna he had planned. He has also demanded the release of a judicial inquiry report on last year's firing in Leh, a matter whose details remain unreleased. The administration's position is that Wangchuk was only advised to stay home. Whether a formal house arrest order exists has not been confirmed.
It is also not yet known whether the December 4 polling date will change. The Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council, the body at the centre of the dispute, will be chosen through these elections, and the protests have put the timing of the polls under sustained public pressure in the union territory.
Source: thefreedompress.in
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