Ladakh statehood protests and Sonam Wangchuk's detention, 2024-2026

What the government did

1. 30 Sep 2024

   Section 144 / 163Police, DelhiShare

   The Delhi Police Commissioner, Sanjay Arora, issued an order under Section 163 of the BNSS barring assemblies of five or more people and sit-ins or dharnas in public areas in the New Delhi, North and Central districts and at police stations along Delhi's borders, from 30 September to 5 October 2024.

   MoreLess · 3 sources

   It was withdrawn by an order dated 2 October.

   Legal basis: Section 163, Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023

   Sources [1][24][25]

2. 30 Sep 2024

   DetentionPolice, DelhiShare

   Delhi Police detained Sonam Wangchuk and about 120 others from Ladakh at the Singhu border on the night of 30 September 2024, during their 'Delhi Chalo Padyatra', citing the prohibitory order, and took them to police stations including Bawana, Narela Industrial Area and Alipur.

   MoreLess · 3 sources

   PTI reported, citing police, that they were released late on 1 October and detained again when they insisted on marching into central Delhi. On 3 October Solicitor General Tushar Mehta told the Delhi High Court they had been set free; the petitioners' counsel Prashant Bhushan disputed that they were fully free.

   • 120 people from Ladakh detained with Wangchuk on 30 September, said LiveLaw [1]
   • 120 people from Ladakh detained before entering Delhi, said Deccan Herald [24]
   • 150 Ladakhis detained again with Wangchuk after release, said officials (PTI) [26]

   Sources [1][24][26]

3. 5 Oct 2024

   Permission deniedPolice, DelhiShare

   The Delhi Police Commissioner, by a letter of 5 October 2024, rejected the request to hold a peaceful demonstration at Jantar Mantar.

   MoreLess · 5 sources

   According to The Tribune, the letter said the request came too late and lacked details of timing and numbers, and that applications must be made at least 10 days in advance. A petition by the Apex Body Leh challenging the refusal was filed in the Delhi High Court; on 22 October the Solicitor General said Wangchuk had withdrawn his fast after discussions, and the petition was dismissed as withdrawn.

   Sources [2][3][27][28][29]

4. 24 Sep 2025

   Section 144 / 163State government, LadakhShare

   After the violence, Leh Deputy Commissioner Romil Singh Donk issued an order under Section 163 of the BNSS restricting processions, rallies and marches in Leh district, and announced a ban on demonstrations, public gatherings and inflammatory speech.

   MoreLess · 3 sources

   Legal basis: Section 163, Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023

   Sources [18][19][4]

5. 24 Sep 2025

   FiringPolice, LadakhShare

   A protest in Leh for statehood and the Sixth Schedule turned violent; protesters set fire to the BJP office and vehicles, including a police vehicle.

   MoreLess · 6 sources

   Police used tear gas and batons, and four men, including Kargil war veteran Tsewang Tharchin, died in firing by security personnel; counts in the first days ranged from three to five. The Home Ministry said a mob incited by Wangchuk's speeches attacked offices and security personnel and that police fired in self-defence. Lieutenant Governor Kavinder Gupta defended the police action; the Kargil Democratic Alliance and Ladakh MP Haji Hanifa Jan demanded an independent judicial probe.

   • at least four people killed, said The Tribune [18]
   • four men killed in firing by security personnel, said ThePrint [5]
   • at least four people killed, said protest coordinators [7]
   • three people killed, said Ladakh MP Mohammed Hanifa (on 24 September) [19]
   • three to five people believed killed in police gunfire, said Sonam Wangchuk (quoted by Indian Express [4]
   • five people killed, said unnamed sources (ETV Bharat [30]
   • some casualties casualties in police firing, said Ministry of Home Affairs [11]
   • over 65 people injured, said The Tribune [18]
   • over 45, including 22 police personnel people injured, said PTI (24 September) [31]
   • over 80 people injured, said PTI (25 September) [33]
   • more than 30 police and CRPF personnel injured, said Ministry of Home Affairs [11]

   Sources [4][5][6][18][19][11]

6. 24 Sep 2025

   CurfewState government, LadakhShare

   A curfew was imposed across Leh after the violence; Lieutenant Governor Kavinder Gupta called it a precautionary measure.

   MoreLess · 6 sources

   It was still in force in Leh on 29 September 2025. Many people, including ex-servicemen, were taken into custody.

   • nearly 50 people detained in connection with the violence, said officials in Leh [20]
   • at least 50 people detained, said police (PTI) [33]

   Sources [18][5][20][7][31][33]

7. 25 Sep 2025

   OtherCentreShare

   The Home Ministry's Foreigners Division cancelled, with immediate effect, the FCRA registration of the Students' Educational and Cultural Movement of Ladakh (SECMOL), the organisation Wangchuk founded.

   MoreLess · 4 sources

   The order cited violations including a Rs 3.5 lakh deposit into the FCRA account and the receipt of foreign funds for a study it described as on the 'sovereignty of the nation'. SECMOL said the deposit was the sale proceeds of an old bus, and Gitanjali Angmo said the funds were for food sovereignty and that the ministry had misread its reply.

   Legal basis: Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, 2010

   Sources [20][21][22][7]

8. 26 Sep 2025

   Internet shutdownCentreShare

   By an order dated 26 September 2025, the Union Home Ministry suspended mobile data (2G to 5G) and public Wi-Fi in the entire Leh district from 18:00 that day to 18:00 on 29 September, citing public safety and public order.

   MoreLess · 5 sources

   Further orders dated 29 September, 3 October and 7 October extended the suspension to 18:00 on 9 October 2025.

   Legal basis: Section 20(2)(b), Telecommunications Act, 2023; Telecommunications (Temporary Suspension of Services) Rules, 2024

   Sources [14][15][16][17][7]

9. 26 Sep 2025

   NSA detentionState government, LadakhShare

   Wangchuk was detained under the National Security Act on an order of the District Magistrate, Leh, which the Home Ministry later said was issued with a view to maintaining public order.

   MoreLess · 6 sources

   Officials said he was detained before a news briefing he was due to hold, and he was moved to Jodhpur Central Jail. On 24 September the Home Ministry had said the mob was incited by his provocative statements; Wangchuk denied the accusations. He had called off his hunger strike that day, saying violence 'only damages our cause'.

   Legal basis: National Security Act, 1980

   Sources [13][8][7][6][11][4]

10. 29 Sep 2025

    NegotiationCentreShare

    The Home Ministry, in a PIB release, said the government had always been open to dialogue with the Apex Body Leh and the Kargil Democratic Alliance and would continue to welcome discussion through the High Powered Committee on Ladakh or any such platform.

    MoreLess · 3 sources

    The Leh Apex Body had said it would stay away from talks until normalcy returned; the Kargil Democratic Alliance said on 30 September it would not talk until its demands were met.

    Sources [12][6][32]

11. 11 Feb 2026

    OtherCourtShare

    Hearing the habeas corpus petition of Wangchuk's wife Gitanjali Angmo (Gitanjali J.

    MoreLess · 2 sources

    Angmo v. Union of India, W.P.(Crl.) No. 399/2025), a Supreme Court bench of Justices Aravind Kumar and P.B. Varale told the Centre it was 'reading too much into' a speech in which Wangchuk worried that young people were moving away from non-violent methods, and asked it to show a proximate link to the 24 September violence. Additional Solicitor General K.M. Nataraj argued that the test was the potential of his words to disturb public order; Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said Wangchuk should not be compared with Mahatma Gandhi.

    Sources [9][23]

12. 14 Mar 2026

    ConcessionCentreShare

    The Centre revoked Wangchuk's NSA detention with immediate effect, stating the aim was to foster peace and an atmosphere for dialogue in Ladakh.

    MoreLess · 2 sources

    It said he had already served nearly half of the detention period under the Act.

    Legal basis: National Security Act, 1980

    Sources [13][8]

Outcome

Wangchuk was released in March 2026 after the Home Ministry revoked his NSA detention. Leh Apex Body and Kargil Democratic Alliance leaders met Home Ministry officials in Leh in August 2026 and demanded an elected assembly. The Home Ministry ordered 12 CRPF companies to Ladakh for 31 August to 30 September 2026, a year after the violence; a Ladakh administration source told ThePrint that compensation promised to the families of the four dead had not yet been granted.

Background

Who governed at the start of the protest. Each action above counts for the party in power where and when it happened.

Centre government

BJPNDA, Narendra Modi, Prime Minister

State government

other (Union Territory administered by the Centre through a Lieutenant Governor) in Ladakh, Kavinder Gupta, Lieutenant Governor (in September 2025)

Places

Leh, Singhu border, Jantar Mantar, Jodhpur Central Jail

Cause

Statehood for Ladakh and constitutional safeguards under the Sixth Schedule

Organisers

Leh Apex Body, Kargil Democratic Alliance, Sonam Wangchuk

Scale

About 120 marchers detained in Delhi in 2024; a shutdown and protest in Leh in September 2025 that turned violent, leaving four dead and dozens injured

What they said

Words in quote marks were matched in the source. Everything else is a summary; open the source for the exact words. Each statement says whether the speaker's party was in power or in opposition at the time.

Sources

1. 1Climate Activist Sonam Wangchuk, His Associates From Ladakh Released And Set Free: SGI Tushar Mehta Tells Delhi High CourtLiveLaw, Nupur Thapliyal, 3 Oct 2024T4 ReportArchived 3 Oct 2024
2. 2Delhi High Court Issues Notice On Plea To Allow Sonam Wangchuk, Others From Ladakh To Hold Peaceful Protest At Jantar MantarLiveLaw, Nupur Thapliyal, 9 Oct 2024T4 ReportArchived 9 Oct 2024
3. 3Climate Activist Sonam Wangchuk's Fast Withdrawn After Discussions: Delhi Police To High CourtLiveLaw, Nupur Thapliyal, 22 Oct 2024T4 Report
4. 4Protests seeking statehood in India's Ladakh turn deadlyAl Jazeera, 24 Sep 2025T5 SecondaryArchived 24 Sep 2025
5. 5Leh turns into a fortress for funeral of ex-serviceman who fought in Kargil but fell to police bulletsThePrint, Bismee Taskin, 29 Sep 2025T4 ReportArchived 29 Sep 2025
6. 6Release Wangchuk, probe 24 September police firing: Kargil-based groupThePrint, Sagrika Kissu, 1 Oct 2025T4 Report
7. 7Indian police arrest Ladakh activist after deadly protestsAl Jazeera, 26 Sep 2025T5 SecondaryArchived 26 Sep 2025
8. 8Centre Revokes Detention Of Sonam Wangchuk Under National Security ActLiveLaw, 14 Mar 2026T5 SecondaryArchived 14 Mar 2026
9. 9'You Are Reading Too Much Into Sonam Wangchuk's Speeches' : Supreme Court To Centre, Questions Nexus With Ladakh ViolenceLiveLaw, Gursimran Kaur Bakshi, 11 Feb 2026T4 ReportArchived 11 Feb 2026
10. 10MHA orders deployment of 12 CRPF companies in Ladakh a year after violence during statehood protestThePrint, Mayank Kumar, 24 Aug 2026T4 ReportArchived 25 Aug 2026
11. 11Press Release on LadakhMinistry of Home Affairs (PIB), 24 Sep 2025T1 RecordArchived 24 Sep 2025
12. 12Government has always been open for dialogues on Ladakh matters with Apex Body Leh (ABL) and Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA) at any timeMinistry of Home Affairs (PIB), 29 Sep 2025T1 RecordArchived 29 Sep 2025
13. 13Government remains committed to fostering an environment of peace, stability, and mutual trust in Ladakh to facilitate constructive and meaningful dialogue with all stakeholdersMinistry of Home Affairs (PIB), 14 Mar 2026T1 Record
14. 14Order: Suspension of the mobile data services of 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G and public Wi-Fi facilities in District Leh of UT of Ladakh (MHA No.22016/12/2019-CIS-IV, dated 26 September 2025)Ministry of Home Affairs (via Home Department, UT of Ladakh), 26 Sep 2025T1 RecordArchived 28 Sep 2025
15. 15Order: Suspension of the mobile data services of 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G and public Wi-Fi facilities in the entire jurisdiction of District Leh (MHA, dated 29 September 2025)Ministry of Home Affairs (via Home Department, UT of Ladakh), 29 Sep 2025T1 RecordArchived 30 Sep 2025
16. 16Order: Suspension of the mobile data services of 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G and public Wi-Fi facilities in the entire jurisdiction of District Leh (MHA, dated 3 October 2025)Ministry of Home Affairs (via Home Department, UT of Ladakh), 3 Oct 2025T1 RecordArchived 6 Oct 2025
17. 17Order: Suspension of the mobile data services of 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G and public Wi-Fi facilities in the entire jurisdiction of District Leh (MHA, dated 7 October 2025)Ministry of Home Affairs (via Home Department, UT of Ladakh), 7 Oct 2025T1 RecordArchived 8 Oct 2025
18. 184 killed, 65 injured as Ladakh statehood protests turn violentThe Tribune, Arjun Sharma, 25 Sep 2025T4 Report
19. 19'Police fired in self defence'—Leh violence leaves 4 dead, MHA says Wangchuk 'instigated' unrestThePrint, Neelam Pandey, Mayank Kumar, Manisha Mondal, 24 Sep 2025T4 ReportArchived 24 Sep 2025
20. 20Day after Leh violence, Wangchuk-led NGO loses FCRA licence over violationsThe Tribune, Ujwal Jalali, 26 Sep 2025T4 ReportArchived 26 Sep 2025
21. 21‘Punishment,’ says Wangchuk as MHA scraps FCRA license of NGO linked to him day after Leh violenceThePrint, Mayank Kumar, 25 Sep 2025T4 ReportArchived 25 Sep 2025
22. 22Govt ‘idiotically misinterpreted’ organisation’s reply: Sonam Wangchuk’s wife on FCRA license cancellationNewslaundry, Shivnarayan Rajpurohit, 27 Sep 2025T4 ReportArchived 27 Sep 2025
23. 23Ladakh violence: ‘You are reading too much into Wangchuk’s speeches’, SC tells CentreThe Tribune, Satya Prakash, 11 Feb 2026T4 ReportArchived 11 Feb 2026
24. 24Climate activist Sonam Wangchuk among 120 people from Ladakh detained before entering DelhiDeccan Herald, Shemin Joy, 1 Oct 2024T4 ReportArchived 1 Oct 2024
25. 25Amid call for multiple protests, Section 163 invoked till Oct 5The Tribune, 1 Oct 2024T5 SecondaryArchived 9 Oct 2024
26. 26Sonam Wangchuk detained again after release, indefinite fast over statehood for Ladakh continuesPTI via The Tribune, 2 Oct 2024T5 SecondaryArchived 2 Oct 2024
27. 27Delhi High Court seeks Delhi Police reply on plea to allow Sonam Wangchuk dharna at Jantar MantarBar & Bench, Bhavini Srivastava, 9 Oct 2024T4 Report
28. 28Sonam Wangchuk ends protest, plea in Delhi High Court withdrawnBar & Bench, Bhavini Srivastava, 22 Oct 2024T4 Report
29. 29Refused Jantar Mantar nod, Wangchuk begins fast at Ladakh BhawanThe Tribune, 7 Oct 2024T5 Secondary
30. 30Ladakh Clashes: Death Toll Rises To 5 As Authorities Impose Curfew In Leh, Detain 50 OvernightETV Bharat, 25 Sep 2025T5 SecondaryArchived 25 Sep 2025
31. 31Curfew imposed in violence-hit Leh; LG claims conspiracyPTI via The Tribune, 24 Sep 2025T5 SecondaryArchived 24 Sep 2025
32. 32Govt always open to dialogue on Ladakh with Leh Apex Body, Kargil Democratic Alliance: MHAPTI via The Tribune, 29 Sep 2025T5 SecondaryArchived 29 Sep 2025
33. 33Ladakh unrest: Curfew in Leh after violent clashes; heavy security in towns, 50 detainedPTI via The Tribune, 25 Sep 2025T5 SecondaryArchived 25 Sep 2025

Similar precedents

Faded actions are ones this precedent does not share.