New Delhi, 1 Oct

Climate activist Sonam Wangchuk and several others who were detained at the Delhi border while marching to the capital to demand Sixth Schedule status for Ladakh on Tuesday launched an indefinite fast at police stations where they have been kept. Wangchuk was leading the march, 'Delhi Chalo Padyatra', which began from Leh a month ago. He and around 120 others from Ladakh were detained on Monday night.

The march was organised by the Leh Apex Body (LAB), which along with the Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA), has been spearheading an agitation for the past four years to demand statehood for Ladakh, seek its inclusion under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution, early recruitment process along with a public service commission for Ladakh and separate Lok Sabha seats for Leh and Kargil districts.

Wangchuk and those accompanying him were detained at the Delhi border for violating prohibitory orders and were taken to different police stations, including Bawana, Narela Industrial Area and Alipur, according to a police officer. "We tried to convince them to go back as Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) (which prohibits assembly of five or more people) is imposed in the national capital but they were adamant," the officer said.

They remain under detention, he said. A representative of the group claimed that Wangchuk was taken to Bawana police station and was not being allowed to meet his lawyers.

The activist and others have launched an indefinite fast at the police stations where they have been kept, the representative said. Wangchuk and the other members of the group had sought official permission and even emailed Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah but that information was used to detain the protesters, the representative claimed.

Ladakh MP Mohmad Haneefa told PTI that around 30 women were among those detained and they were kept with the male detainees. "Several people from Ladakh have been detained. They have been kept at different police stations. I met some of them late last (Monday) night and early today (Tuesday)," Haneefa said.

He said around 60-70 people from Kargil who had come to join the march at the Singhu border on Tuesday morning were also stopped by Delhi Police. Around 30 women were also detained, Haneefa said. "They were kept in a place where male detainees were also there," he said.

However, Delhi Police had said on Monday night that women protesters were not detained.