Jaipur: The Leh administration has formed a three-member advisory board to review the detention of Sonam Wangchuk, who is currently held in Jodhpur Central Jail under the National Security Act (NSA).
The board, chaired by former judge M. K. Hujura is set to hear Wangchuk’s case on Friday, with security at the jail reportedly tightened ahead of the proceedings. The panel also includes District Judge Manoj Parihar and social activist Spal Jayesh Angmo, who have both arrived in Jodhpur and are staying at the Circuit House before their visit to the jail.
Reports indicate that Wangchuk’s wife, Geetanjali J. Angmo, is likely to attend the hearing. Wangchuk was detained on September 26 in connection with the Leh protests and transferred to Jodhpur, where he remains under house arrest.
Geetanjali has submitted appeals against his detention to both local authorities and the central government. She has also approached the Supreme Court, alleging that her fundamental rights were violated when she tried to visit her husband. In her plea, she claimed that officers from the Intelligence Bureau and Rajasthan Police closely monitored her movements during her visits to Jodhpur Central Jail, TNIE reported.
In her affidavit, Geetanjali J. Angmo recounted that she was intercepted by authorities at Jodhpur airport on both October 7 and October 11 and placed under surveillance during her visits to meet her husband.
She stated that after leaving the airport, officers from the Intelligence Bureau and Rajasthan Police directed her into a vehicle with curtained windows, accompanied her to the jail, and remained with her throughout the meeting. Before each visit, she was reportedly asked to provide details of her travel plans and the duration of her stay in Jodhpur.
Geetanjali alleged that two officers stayed nearby during her meetings with Wangchuk, listening to their conversation and taking photographs as he gave her legal instructions. She further claimed that she was not allowed to meet anyone else in the city and was escorted back to the railway station, with officers accompanying her for about two hours beyond Jodhpur before she got off at Merta Road Junction.
Wangchuk’s detention came after violent protests in Leh last month calling for Ladakh’s statehood, which led to four deaths and several injuries.
Geetanjali has filed a habeas corpus petition in the Supreme Court challenging her husband’s detention. The case is currently being heard by Justices Arvind Kumar and N. V. Anjaria.