New Delhi: The central government has cancelled the FCRA license of the Students Educational and Cultural Movement of Ladakh, led by activist Sonam Wangchuk. The government has taken this action in the case of violence in Ladakh. Four people were killed and several others were injured in this violence.
Officials said that earlier the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had started a probe into violation of the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA) against an organization founded by Ladakh-based educationist and activist Sonam Wangchuk.
When contacted, Wangchuk told PTI that the CBI had registered a case against her about 10 days ago. A team of the CBI had come with orders, stating that they were acting on a complaint from the Home Ministry mentioning alleged FCRA violations at the Himalayan Institute of Alternatives Ladakh.
Wangchuk claimed, “The orders state that we have not taken clearance under FCRA to receive foreign funds. We do not want to be dependent on foreign funds.”
He said a CBI team visited HIAL and the Students’ Educational and Cultural Movement of Ladakh last week, seeking details of foreign funds received between 2022 and 2024. He said the teams are still camped in Ladakh and are examining the accounts and statements of the institutions.
Wangchuk said the cases mentioned in the complaint were service contracts on which outstanding tax was paid to the government. He said he was involved in India’s export of knowledge to the United Nations, a Swiss university and an Italian institute. “The CBI officials are still camped in Ladakh and are scrutinising the records,” Wangchuk said, but added that they did not ask him any questions.
“Everyone knows, we have the documents to show,” he claimed. “The government almost apologised and said that they had not made a lease policy and therefore they could not charge fees. They said, ‘Please support us and continue the construction’.”
This was followed by the CBI action and Income Tax summons, Wangchuk alleged. “The funny thing is that Ladakh is a place where there is no tax. Yet I pay taxes voluntarily and I get summons. Then they revived a four-year-old complaint that the workers were not paid properly. We are being attacked from all sides.’’
Wangchuk had started a hunger strike on September 10 demanding inclusion of Ladakh in the Sixth Schedule and statehood.
The region witnessed its worst violence since 1989 on Wednesday, when groups of youth targeted the BJP headquarters and the Hill Council, committed arson and vandalism and set vehicles on fire, officials said. Police and paramilitary forces had to fire tear gas shells to bring the situation under control, officials said.