The Jail That Houses Sonam Wangchuk And An Activist's Hunger Strike Threat

Ladakh statehood activist Sonam Wangchuk, who was arrested under the National Security Act (NSA), was shifted to Jodhpur jail in Rajasthan - a prison centre known for its tight three-layer security. Mr Wangchuk will be in a solitary cell that will be constantly monitored by CCTVs, officials said.

The Jodhpur jail, which dates back to the British era, has lodged many high-profile people over the years, such as Bollywood actor Salman Khan - who was convicted in the 1998 blackbuck poaching case, and rape-accused self-proclaimed godman Asaram Bapu. Many terrorists belonging to the Indian Mujahideen and Jammu and Kashmir separatist leader Abdul Ghani Lone were lodged in the prison.

The jail was also struck during the 1965 war with Pakistan, in which over 30 people inside the prison had died.

Presently, it houses 1,400 prisoners.

While officials have not said why they chose to lodge Mr Wangchuk at the Jodhpur jail, it is believed to avoid massive protests by his supporters from Ladakh. Mr Wangchuk was taken to the prison centre in a special plane under heavy security deployment - which the city police commissioner was a part of.

Despite the security, high drama was witnessed outside the jail today morning as a 50-year-old activist, Vijaypal, threatened to go on a hunger strike in protest against Mr Wangchuk's arrest. According to officials, Mr Vijaypal reached the prison's gates around 10:20 am, raising slogans of 'Bharat Mata Ki Jai'. When the local police tried to send him away, he threatened to go on a hunger strike outside the jail if he was forcibly removed from the spot.

The police, however, detained him and took him to the Ratanada police station for questioning.

Police sources told NDTV that Mr Vijaypal had earlier protested against the opening of liquor shops.

Mr Wangchuk, who is facing allegations of inciting a mob with provocative statements, was arrested on Friday - two days after violent protests over statehood and constitutional protection left four people dead and 50, including security personnel, injured in Ladakh. A day before his arrest, Mr Wangchuk had said he would be "happy to be arrested anytime for the cause".

This comes as the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) cancelled the registration of Mr Wangchuk's non-profit 'Students Educational and Cultural Movement of Ladakh' (SECMOL) to receive funds from abroad under the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act or FCRA, 2010. The activist denied all the allegations made by the Centre and the Union Territory's administration, following the violence earlier this week that left four dead and over 50, including security personnel, injured.

Mr Wangchuk had told NDTV: "They mistook it as foreign contributions. I consider it a mistake on their (Centre's) part, and therefore I don't mind it. But that's what was thought of as a foreign contribution. It is not."

The arrest of the activist, a key figure in the five-year-long agitation for Ladakh's rights, has drawn strong reactions from the opposition leaders, who blamed the central government's handling of the situation.

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah called the arrest "unfortunate".

"It is unfortunate they have arrested him. BJP will never fulfil their promises. We are not justifying violence. Who am I to justify violence, but BJP should answer why they let such a situation develop," he said.