Ex-Army man, close associate of Wangchuk, arrested weeks after Leh violence
LAB slams ‘deliberate harassment’ to force Stanba to turn against Wangchuk
Srinagar: In a fresh act of intimidation against peaceful protesters in Ladakh region of Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, police have arrested former Indian Army soldier Tsering Stanba nearly two months after the September 24 protests in Leh.
According to Kashmir Media Service, Stanba had been participating in a hunger strike alongside prominent climate activist Sonam Wangchuk, who remains jailed in Rajasthan under the draconian National Security Act (NSA), 1980.
Ladakh police claimed that Stanba was a “close associate” of Wangchuk and that his name surfaced during the investigation into the September protests, when clashes between demonstrators and Indian forces left four civilians dead and over 100 injured. The protesters had been demanding statehood for Ladakh and inclusion under the Sixth Schedule.
President of the Bar Association Leh, Advocate Mohammad Shafi Lassu, confirmed that Stanba was taken into custody last week. He said a bail application seeking his release has already been filed.
Family members also rejected the police accusations. Stanba’s wife, Kalzang Angmo, said he received a call from police and was subsequently detained without any explanation. Calling him a “true patriot”, she said her husband always served the country with loyalty and had merely exercised his democratic right to protest peacefully. Stanba retired from the Indian Army in 2024 after serving in UN Peacekeeping missions in Lebanon and at sensitive posts along the India-China border.
Indian police have carried out widespread arrests since the September protests, detaining dozens of civilians, most of whom were later granted bail. A senior police officer claimed that Stanba had participated in all major protest programmes linked to the statehood movement and alleged that his role emerged during investigation. The officer confirmed that Stanba had been hospitalised after the September 24 incident.
Civil society leaders in Ladakh have strongly criticised the arrest. Cherring Dorjay Lakruk, co-chairman of the Leh Apex Body (LAB), termed the delayed arrest “deliberate harassment”, suggesting that authorities may be attempting to coerce Stanba into speaking against Wangchuk.
Earlier, the Leh Apex Body and the Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA) jointly wrote to India’s Home Secretary expressing serious concern over the “harassment and intimidation” of activists and community representatives by Indian Police.
