Leh: He could be killed in an encounter for speaking out against the government, activist Sonam Wangchuk has said, calling for the resignation of Union home minister Amit Shah over last year’s September 24 violence in Ladakh that left four people dead.
While addressing a gathering to mark the first anniversary of the violence during protests over statehood and Sixth Schedule safeguards, Wangchuk also called for the judicial inquiry report to be made public. If the report was not released, an independent “people’s tribunal” would be set up to examine the police firing, he said.
He had been warned about threats to his life and that he was prepared for any outcome, Wangchuk said.
“They have put me in jail. Now there is even a possibility that I could be encountered somewhere. People tell me, ‘You will be encountered’. If that happens, let it happen – so that the country wakes up,” he said, as reported by India Today.
Wangchuk held Shah politically responsible for the deaths during the agitation and demanded accountability.
“Today, from Ladakh, I say – Amit Shah should resign. He has to take responsibility for what happened in Ladakh,” he said, while alleging that security personnel used automatic weapons, including AK-47s, against local youth, who were later branded as “anti-national”.
He referred to Congress MP Rahul Gandhi’s demand for Shah’s resignation over police action against students in New Delhi and said he supported that call but questioned Gandhi’s silence on Ladakh.
“Rahul Gandhi stood up and asked how such weapons could be used against students, demanding Amit Shah’s resignation. I support that,” he said. “But if he demanded Amit Shah’s resignation earlier, then what about what happened in Ladakh, where AK-47s were used and people were killed, with bullets hitting their heads and chests?”
The violence was linked to Ladakh’s longstanding demands, including constitutional safeguards, he said, alleging that assurances given to the people had not been fulfilled. Justice for Ladakh was not only the responsibility of the Union Territory’s people, but of the entire country, Wangchuk said.
A shutdown was observed in Leh and other parts of Ladakh on Wednesday to mark the anniversary of the violence, with shops and business establishments closed in Leh and Kargil and traffic thin on the roads. The day was observed by some in Ladakh as “Martyrs’ Day”.
The activist alleged that heavy security deployment and restrictions had led to low public participation in Thursday’s commemoration.
“People are afraid because there are barricades everywhere and armed personnel have been deployed in villages and at crossings,” he said, adding that some village representatives and students were being discouraged from attending programmes for those killed. He said the limited turnout should not be seen as a defeat for the movement.
The Ladakh Police rejected the allegations though, calling them “false, baseless, and misleading”.
In a statement, the police said no one was stopped from attending the prayer meet held to pay tribute to the victims of the 2025 violence and that security arrangements were routine. It said permission had been granted to the Ladakh Buddhist Association to hold the public meeting at the NDS ground in Leh, which can hold 10,000 people.
“This event saw a limited turnout, with less than 800 people attending… The police did not stop any individual from proceeding to the venue or attending the event,” the statement said, adding that barricades in the city area were only part of traffic and crowd-management measures after organisers had projected a large gathering.
Ladakh had chosen to remain with India because people believed in democracy and the right to live with dignity, Wangchuk said. However, the present situation had created fear and went against those democratic aspirations, he alleged.
Criticising Shah further, he said that things were going well in the country between 2014 and 2019, but since he became home minister there had been “riots and disturbances everywhere” and promises made to Ladakh were broken.
“Ladakh had China on one side and India on the other. Ladakh chose India because we believed that in India, there is democracy, we would be able to live with our heads held high,” he said. “And today, such oppression is being inflicted on Ladakh that, in my view, even China is not doing this to Tibet,” he added.