New Delhi: Ladakh-based activist Sonam Wangchuk has been facing a Central Bureau of Investigation probe for the past two months, with the agency having opened a preliminary enquiry into alleged violations of foreign funding laws involving him and the Himalayan Institute of Alternatives Ladakh (HIAL), officials told this newspaper on Thursday.
The enquiry, launched on a reference from the Ministry of Home Affairs, is focused on foreign contributions received by HIAL and related entities and has so far involved scrutiny of financial statements and receipts.
A CBI official told the Daily Guardian that the inquiry has been under way for more than two months; “Till now no formal First Information Report has been registered and the agency is conducting the preliminary enquiry to determine whether a case can be made out,” the official said.
As part of the fact-finding exercise, CBI teams have visited HIAL and the Students’ Educational and Cultural Movement of Ladakh (SECMOL) to seek details of foreign funds received during recent years, officials said. The agency is reported to be scrutinising bank records and accounts for the period under scrutiny to ascertain whether the groups obtained and used foreign contributions in compliance with the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act and related rules.
No response was shared by Wangchuk on the message sent by this newspaper seeking his version.
According to officials, it would be incorrect to suggest that the preliminary enquiry was prompted by Wangchuk’s recent protests in Ladakh. They underlined that the process began over two months ago and was unrelated to his agitation for statehood and Sixth Schedule protections.
The preliminary nature of the enquiry means it is an initial assessment stage and not an accusation; the CBI must satisfy itself that there is sufficient material before registering an FIR or launching a formal criminal investigation.
