Leh: Activist Sonam Wangchuk, who has been leading a movement for the Sixth Schedule in Ladakh, has received an anonymous letter from an 'admirer' informing the activist that the bank account details of Wangchuk’s institutes' [Students’ Educational and Cultural Movement of Ladakh (SECMOL)] and the Himalayan Institute of Alternatives, Ladakh) were recently obtained by the 'anti-money laundering department' from the banks.
Wangchuk added that on the same day, a man who claimed to work in one of the government of India’s investigating agencies and who also said he was an admirer of Wangchuk’s work came up to him and said that Wangchuk should “take very good care” of his safety and his life.
In a post on Social media, Wangchuk said: “I received a plain, unmarked envelope with a handwritten letter inside it. The letter said that the bank account details of my institutes, Students’ Educational and Cultural Movement of Ladakh (SECMOL) and the Himalayan Institute of Alternatives, Ladakh) had been taken by the anti-money laundering department recently from the banks.”
Wangchul said that the letter mentioned: “The same happened in [Arvind] Kejriwal’s case.”
“I really welcome such investigations because this is the only way that they and you all will come to know of what happens in my institution,” Wangchuk said in his social media post.
Regarding his safety, he said: “I am not afraid of dying, if anything happens to me, the people of India will understand how the country is being run. I would be happiest to die in such a way … sometimes deaths can spark revolutions.
The activist and innovator who served as the inspiration for the character portrayed by Aamir Khan in the film "3 Idiots," has emerged as a face in the Ladakh movement, seeking the implementation of the Sixth Schedule to safeguard the region from exploitation.
Wangchuk, local leaders and thousands of Ladakhis have been on a rolling hunger strike from March 4 after talks with the BJP government failed and the government refused to enact the Sixth Schedule in Ladakh, earlier promised by the same government.
Meanehile, the BJP has opted to replace its incumbent MP in the Ladakh region with a fresh candidate for the ongoing Lok Sabha elections. On Tuesday (April 23), the BJP announced that Tashi Gyalson, the present chairman of the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council, will now represent the party in Ladakh, replacing the current MP, Jamyang Tsering Namgyal.