Ladakh Police on Wednesday removed climate activist Sonam Wangchuk from a protest site in Leh and escorted him to his residence, advising him to remain at home, the police said in a statement reported by India Today. The preventive action was taken under prohibitory orders issued by the Chief Electoral Officer of the Union Territory of Ladakh and the District Magistrate, Leh, which bar public rallies, protests and other gatherings within the limits of Leh Municipality during the ongoing election process.

Source: Ladakh Police statement via India Today / News89

Ladakh Director General of Police Anand Jain confirmed the step, saying Wangchuk had been advised to stay at his residence in view of the prohibitory orders, to prevent any breach of public order. Police also urged residents to comply with the restrictions in view of the panchayat, municipal and Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC) elections.

Source: The CSR Journal

A separate order under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) has also imposed restrictions for 60 days on Wangchuk organising or taking part in unauthorised rallies, processions and public gatherings that could disrupt peace or interfere with the electoral process, according to Power Corridors' report of the orders.

Source: Power Corridors

"I am under house arrest" — Wangchuk's allegation

Wangchuk has described the step as house arrest. "I AM UNDER HOUSE ARREST," he wrote on X, saying personnel had escorted him to his institute, where he lives, and told him not to leave, and that a heavy security presence — around 20 to 22 armed personnel by his account — has effectively prevented him from moving freely. He says the written order does not explicitly direct him to remain confined at home. The administration maintains the measures are preventive rather than a formal detention or house-arrest order.

Source: Madhyamam Online

The confrontation is over the administration's decision to hold elections to all eight Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Councils on December 4, in peak winter, with municipal and panchayat polls on November 21. The Leh Apex Body (LAB) and the Kargil Democratic Alliance, which are in talks with the Centre over Ladakh's demands for statehood and constitutional safeguards, had announced an indefinite sit-in from November 12 against the winter schedule. Wangchuk has also questioned the delay in publishing the judicial inquiry report into the September 2025 violence in Leh, in which four people were killed.

Source: Power Corridors

What happens next turns on whether the LAB goes ahead with its sit-in under the restrictions and whether the administration eases the curbs on Wangchuk before the November 21 local polls. The election schedule has not been changed. Sources: Ladakh Police statement reported by India Today (via News89), November 11-12; The CSR Journal, November 12; Power Corridors, November 12; Madhyamam Online, November 13.