Indian police torture Wangchuk’s associates, says wife
Leh: Gitanjali J Angmo, wife of activist Sonam Wangchuk and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Himalayan Institute of Alternatives has slammed the Indian government and said police tortured the people of Ladakh after the September 24 violence in the region.
According to Kashmir Media Service, comparing the current situation in Ladakh to that during British India, she wrote on X the Indian Home Ministry is “misusing” the police.
“Is India really free? In 1857, 24,000 Britishers used 135,000 Indian sepoys to oppress 300 million Indians under orders from the Queen. Today, a dozen administrators are misusing 2,400 police personnel to oppress and torture three lakh Ladakhis under the orders of the Indian Ministry of Home Affairs,” Gitanjali said.
She said two staff members of the Himalayan Institute of Alternatives, Ladakh (HIAL), Dr Setan Norbu and Stan Zinulo, were detained and subjected to “mental and physical torture” by police to extract information about Wangchuk and the institute. She said the authorities were “brutally beating them” while in custody.
Angmo said, “The government must first restore trust, release all detained protesters, allow free communication, and engage sincerely with people’s representatives rather than controlling the narrative through the administration.”
