Sonam Wangchuk visits Rajghat after 36 hours of detention

A 45-year-old protestor who was detained at Kanjhawala police station said that police offered to release them, take them up to the Singhu border, and bring them back on Tuesday night, but they refused

NEW DELHI

Sonam Wangchuk and his group reached Rajghat on Wednesday night, amid heavy police presence. (PTI)

Climate activist Sonam Wangchuk and 90 of his followers who were detained by Delhi Police on Monday were taken to Rajghat late Wednesday evening, amid heavy police protection, despite their release around 4pm on Wednesday.

Detained since Monday night, the detenues were temporarily released from custody on Tuesday night, as 24 hours elapsed, before being apprehended again. When questioned about the temporary release — law permits detention for only 24 hours — deputy commissioner of police (outer north) Ravi Kumar Singh did not comment despite repeated calls and messages.

Wangchuk entered Rajghat around 9.30pm on Wednesday, amid heavy police deployment, as thousands of supporters thronged to the venue to greet him. “His vehicle arrived around 8pm but he could only enter the premises an hour and a half later. He alone went inside while others who were detained along with him stayed outside,” a protester, requesting anonymity, said.

After paying homage, Wangchuk exited the premises and announced that his indefinite hunger strike ended. He said that he and other protesters gave a memorandum to the government for protecting Ladakh under constitutional provisions that can protect the Himalayas. “We have ended the strike on the assurance that I’ll get to meet the leadership — the Prime Minister, the President or the Home Minister,” he said.

A 45-year-old protestor who was detained at Kanjhawala police station said that police offered to release them, take them up to the Singhu border, and bring them back on Tuesday night, but they refused. “Sonam was taken to the gate of the police station and brought back again. Some detainees from Narela police station were taken in a bus and brought back. We refused to go out and were at the police station itself. We were illegally detained for more than 36 hours,” the protester, not wanting to be named, said.

Protesters said that in a bid to resolve the stand-off, police offered to ferry them in buses to Rajghat around 3pm. “But we were not taken in the afternoon. We only left the police stations around 6pm and reached Rajghat around 8pm,” the protester said.

In a related development, activist Medha Patkar and other members of the National Alliance of People’s Movements (NAPM) were detained by Delhi Police on Wednesday morning.

Adarsh Shahi, an NAPM member, who was also detained, said that they were protesting peacefully in support of Wangchuk at Gulab Vatika near Rajghat when they were detained and taken to IP Estate police station. “We started the silent protest around 8am and we were removed around noon. We were all on hunger strike as well. We were released in the evening, after which we came to Rajghat to received Sonam,” he said.

The detenues have been on hunger strike since Monday night. Of the 90 who were detained, 40 were kept at the Bawana police station, 30 at Narela police station and 20 at Kanjhawala police station. About 70 women were kept at a few ashrams.

Wangchuk and his supporters were marching to Delhi with a list of demands, such as statehood for Ladakh and extension of the Constitution’s Sixth Schedule, among other requests, when they were detained near the Singhu border, with police citing a prohibitory order was in place.

Wangchuk was leading the “Delhi Chalo Padyatra”, which began in Leh a month ago. He walked up to Chandigarh with 150 others and reached NCR on a bus.