The Ladakh Police, which is probing the recent unrest in the Union territory, is also examining activist Sonam Wangchuk’s alleged Pakistani links and his visits to the neighbouring countries.
Director General of Police (DGP), Ladakh, S.D. Singh Jamwal said the Leh police had recently arrested a Pakistan PIO who was allegedly in touch with Wangchuk.
"We arrested a Pakistan PIO in the recent past who was reporting back across. We have a record of this. He (Sonam Wanghchuk) had attended a Dawn event in Pakistan. He also visited Bangladesh. So, there is a big question mark on him...Investigation is being done,” Jamwal said, addressing a press conference in Leh on Saturday.
Wangchuk, who has been spearheading the campaign for Ladakh statehood, was detained under the National Security Act (NSA) on Friday, with the government alleging that his provocative speeches resulted in the Wednesday's violence that left four persons dead and scores of others injured.
He has been lodged in Jodhpur Central Jail in Rajasthan.
The DGP, too, accused Wangchuk of instigating violence in the UT. "Sonam Wangchuk has had a history of instigating. He has referred to the Arab Spring, Nepal and Bangladesh,” he said, adding that an investigation is also underway into his alleged violation of the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act.
The Union home ministry has cancelled the FCRA licence of the Students' Educational and Cultural Movement of Ladakh (SECMOL), an organisation founded by Wangchuk, citing alleged financial discrepancies and a fund transfer deemed to be against "national interest".
Meanwhile, an uneasy calm continued to prevail in the Himalayan region as curfew remained in force for the fourth consecutive day in Leh with no untoward incident being reported from anywhere in the UT.