The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has initiated a preliminary enquiry (PE) against celebrated Ladakh-based academic and social activist Sonam Wangchuk and the Himalayan Institute of Alternatives Ladakh (HIAL) for suspected violations of the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA).

The inquiry follows as the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) holds Wangchuk responsible for fanning recent unrest in Leh in “provocative speeches” that cited global protest trends such as the Arab Spring.

CBI Launches Foreign Funding Investigation

CBI officials verified on Thursday that a PE—a step before an FIR is filed—had been moved against Wangchuk and HIAL about two months ago at the instance of the Ministry of Home Affairs. The agency is now examining the financial reports of both the activist and the institute to check whether a formal case can be lodged under the law governing foreign contributions.

A senior officer who declined to be identified said Wangchuk was called to present himself before the CBI but has not done so.

In a conversation with a news agency, Wangchuk admitted that a CBI team had visited HIAL and the Students’ Educational and Cultural Movement of Ladakh (SECMOL) last week. He said the inquiry was about foreign funds received during 2022-2024.

“The order mentioned that we have not obtained clearance under FCRA to accept foreign funds,” Wangchuk informed. He contended that the money in question was not foreign contribution but income earned from selling their expertise abroad, naming three instances of it that the agency might have misread as foreign contribution.

MHA Connects Activist’s Speeches To Leh Violence

The inquiry is being pursued amidst the MHA charging Wangchuk with deceiving the people and inciting Wednesday’s clashes in Ladakh.

Wangchuk has been on a hunger strike since September 10, calling for statehood to Ladakh and inclusion under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution. Even though the MHA assured that it has been negotiating these matters actively with the Apex Body Leh (ABL) and the Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA), it emphasized that Wangchuk’s rhetoric was more than the demands mentioned.

The MHA wrote that Wangchuk persisted in his hunger strike and was “misleading the people through provocative reference to Arab Spring-type protest and Gen Z protests in Nepal.”

The ministry gave a chronology of the violence:

• At about 11:30 am, a mob believed to be instigated by Wangchuk dispersed from the site of the hunger strike.
• The mob went on to attack and burn a political party office and a government office of the Leh chief.
• The protesters also assaulted security personnel and set a police vehicle on fire.
• Over 30 police/CRPF personnel were injured in the violence.
• Police were finally forced to fire in self-defence, in which reported casualties were incurred.

The MHA concluded that the demands that were propelling Wangchuk’s protest were already an “integral part of the discussion” in the government’s High-Powered Committee.