Wed Oct 02 07:20:18 UTC 2024: ## Climate Activist Sonam Wangchuk and 150 Ladakh Protesters Detained in Delhi, Continue Hunger Strike
**New Delhi, October 2, 2024:** Climate activist Sonam Wangchuk and 150 other protestors from Ladakh, who are demanding statehood for their region, are currently under detention in Delhi and have begun an indefinite hunger strike. The protestors, who were part of the ‘Delhi Chalo Padyatra’ that started from Leh a month ago, were detained on Monday night.
The protestors claim their detention is illegal, as they have been held for over 24 hours without being produced before a magistrate. They also allege that police attempted to relocate them to an unknown location, and their phones have been confiscated.
The Delhi Police have stated that the protestors were released on Tuesday night but were detained again after they insisted on marching towards central Delhi. The ‘padyatris’ had travelled to Delhi by foot, boarding buses only upon entering Haryana.
The protestors, who have been fasting for 36 hours, were hoping to visit the Gandhi Samadhi on October 2nd, Mahatma Gandhi’s birth anniversary. Instead, they find themselves detained, calling into question the state of democracy in India. They are demanding immediate release and call upon the public to stand in solidarity with them.
The march was organized by the Leh Apex Body (LAB) and the Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA), who have been campaigning for the past four years for statehood for Ladakh, inclusion under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution, early recruitment processes, a public service commission, and separate Lok Sabha seats for Leh and Kargil districts.
Mr. Wangchuk and a few other protestors are currently held at the Bawana police station, while others are being held at different police stations across the city.
First Piper 