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Wangchuk alleges police harassment of Kargil War Hero’s family in Ladakh
Climate activist also shared a video showing police and other forces arriving to detain the 17-year-old boy from a protest site in Leh
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Climate activist Sonam Wangchuk on Saturday alleged that the Ladakh police are harassing the son and wife of a slain Kargil war hero because he is speaking out for justice for Ladakh.
The 17-year-old is the son of a slain Kargil war hero who was among the four civilians killed during last year’s violence in Leh. On Saturday, Wangchuk also shared a video from Friday night showing police and other forces arriving to detain the 17-year-old boy from a protest site in Leh, where the Leh Apex Body (LAB) is currently demonstrating.
Wangchuk alleged that the police later raided their house, and now the mother and son are missing. However, the Ladakh police said that the grandfather of the child had confirmed that the son and mother are safe. Wangchuk alleged that since the death of his father, the son has been in a state of depression after failing to get justice.
“When a Kargil war hero gets a death... will the nation stand with his family? In a shocking incident, the UT administration has been chasing a 17-year-old boy, Mipham, to put him in a mental asylum... for demanding the release of the judicial inquiry commission report of the September 24 incident in Leh last year. His father, Kargil War Hero Havaldar Tharchin, was killed brutally last year,” Wangchuk wrote on X.
Wangchuk alleged that the government is sitting on the inquiry report. “The government is moving at a snail’s pace with this inquiry report but with rocket speed to hold rigged elections in mid-winter of hill ccouncils in eight districts. This way, they can get their own puppet leaders to hold talks on (non-) restoration of democracy in Ladakh... Please share widely to support Ladakh,” Wangchuk further wrote on X.
Kargil War Hero Tsewang Tharchin was killed along with three other people last year in security forces’ firing when violence broke out during a protest in Leh.
The government has already announced panchayat and Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC) polls for November and December. However, powerful groups in Leh and Kargil, especially the LAB and the Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA), have already announced a boycott of these polls.
The Ladakh administration has also imposed 60-day movement restrictions on Sonam Wangchuk. The LAB and KDA on Wednesday had made a video appeal to the President, Prime Minister, Union home minister, and Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, to defer December 4 elections to the LAHDC.
Ladakh MP Haneefa Jan also wrote a letter to the Union home minister Amit Shah seeking the postponement of the polls. Several rounds of talks with the Union home ministry have failed to break the deadlock since September 24, 2025, when protests in Leh turned violent and protesters clashed with police. Four people were killed and more than 80 injured.
