Police arrest climate activist Sonam Wangchuk in Leh, shift him to jail in Rajasthan's Jodhpur
Leh (PTI): Police arrested climate activist Sonam Wangchuk on Friday, two days after protests demanding Ladakh's statehood and Sixth Schedule status left four people dead and 90 injured in the Union Territory.
Wangchuk was taken into custody by a police party led by Ladakh Police chief S D Singh Jamwal at 2:30 pm, officials said, adding that he was subsequently lodged in a jail in Rajasthan's Jodhpur.
While there was no official word on the charges pressed against Wangchuk, sources within the Ladakh administration indicated that the stringent National Security Act (NSA) has been invoked against the climate activist.
The Union Territory administration has also snapped mobile internet services in the Leh area as a precautionary measure.
Wangchuk, a leading voice for the Leh Apex Body (LAB) and the Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA), has been spearheading a five-year-long agitation demanding statehood and constitutional safeguards for the residents of Leh and Kargil, which form part of the Union Territory of Ladakh that was carved out from the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir in August 2019.
The BJP-led Centre has blamed the climate activist for inciting the recent violence in Leh but Wangchuk has denied all the allegations.
"To say it was instigated by me is to find a scapegoat rather than addressing the core of the problem and this will lead us nowhere," Wangchuk said on Thursday, adding that the violence was an indication that youngsters in the region were frustrated.
The arrest came a day after the Union home ministry cancelled the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA) licence of the Students' Educational and Cultural Movement of Ladakh (SECMOL), an organisation founded by Wangchuk, citing alleged financial discrepancies and a fund transfer deemed to be against "national interest".
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UP Cong holds statewide protest seeking probe into FIR against Swami Avimukteshwaranand
Lucknow (PTI): The Uttar Pradesh Congress on Wednesday staged a statewide protest demanding a fair and transparent inquiry into the FIR lodged against Swami Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati and those who filed the complaint against him.
In a statement issued here, the party said memorandums addressed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi were submitted through district magistrates in all districts of the state.
Uttar Pradesh Congress spokesperson Manish Hindvi told PTI that the memorandums were handed over through the district administration in all 75 districts.
In the memorandum, the party alleged that Saraswati and his disciples were "unnecessarily harassed and humiliated" by police on the occasion of Amavasya and were prevented from taking a ritual bath (at the Magh Mela). It further alleged that some disciples were manhandled and taken to a police station.
The memorandum also claimed that an FIR was later registered against Saraswati, his disciple Swami Mukundanand Brahmachari and several unidentified persons in a sexual harassment case. It termed the case a "conspiracy" aimed at tarnishing the seer's reputation.
Citing Articles 25 and 26 of the Constitution, the memorandum stated that these provisions guarantee religious freedom and the right of religious denominations to manage their own affairs.
It described the position of shankaracharya held by Saraswati as "one of the highest spiritual posts in Sanatan tradition" and alleged that the entire episode appeared to have been "orchestrated in a planned manner".
"We request that the background of the persons who got the FIR registered be investigated in a transparent manner by a retired high court judge and strict action be taken against them," the memorandum said.
It also sought a "fair and transparent probe" into the allegations levelled against Saraswati so that the truth could be established.
Earlier, Uttar Pradesh Congress president Ajay Rai had told reporters in Varanasi after meeting Saraswati that the party stood firmly with him.
The Congress said it would continue to press for an impartial inquiry into the entire episode.
On February 21, an FIR was lodged in Prayagraj against Saraswati and his disciple Mukundanand Brahmachari on charges of sexually abusing two persons, including a minor, over the past year at a gurukul and religious congregations, including the recently concluded Magh Mela.
Days after he was booked, Saraswati had said on Monday that he would not oppose his arrest and asserted that the "fabricated story" would be exposed sooner or later.
At a press conference on Wednesday, Saraswati alleged that criminals rule in Uttar Pradesh, level allegations and influence investigations, as he denied having any contact with the two persons for whose alleged sexual abuse he has been booked.
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