"I am being followed everywhere in Delhi": Arrested climate activist Sonam Wangchuk's wife alleges surveillance

New Delhi [India], October 3 (ANI): Climate activist Sonam Wangchuk's wife, Gitanjali Angmo, on Friday, alleged that her movement is under constant surveillance and that one of her staff members was detained and being treated "inhumanely" by the police.
Wangchuk was detained under the National Security Act (NSA) and shifted to Jodhpur Central Jail in Rajasthan following violent protests on September 24 in Leh.
"I am being followed everywhere in Delhi. A car follows me wherever I go... One of the staff members who was working closely with us was detained. He is in police custody... He is being beaten up and tortured mentally and physically," Angmo told ANI.
Angmo has moved a habeas corpus petition in the Supreme Court against the preventive detention of her husband.
Asked whether she is getting judicial help to get in touch with her husband, Angmo said, " Not at all. I only got a call from a member of an apex body that he recieved a call from DSP saying that some people could meet (Sonam Wangchuk). I told him that I want this in writing. But I have never recieved anything such."
She said she was worried about the treatment her husband is getting in detention.
"I am worried about how he must be getting treated in jail... This message should reach throughout India: If justice can be delayed for a celebrity, with whom the whole country is rallying, who has worked at the grassroots, then what recourse does a commoner have?" she asked.
Asked about her letter addressed to the President, Prime Minister and Law Minister, she said, "I have not recieved any response till now. I cited that he should be immediately released because his detention is illegal. He poses no threat to national security in any way... Plus, I would be allowed to meet him... There was no response till yesterday. That is why yesterday we filed a petition under the habeas corpus with the Supreme Court of India."
Speaking to ANI, Angmo confirmed that she has approached the Supreme Court seeking her husband's immediate release.
"We have support from every corner, but as I have said from the start, I do not want to politicise this issue because that is not aligned with Sonam's or my value system. We have always been apolitical. We want to fight this on its merits," Angmo said.
"At the same time, we accept and appreciate support from everywhere, from influencers, the media, political houses, NGOs and civil society, even retired major generals and members of the army. You have seen positive support come in from all quarters, and we are grateful to each of you. But we do not want this to become a political issue or a political agenda. Sonam has dedicated his life to science, education, the environment and the youth with purity of purpose. We want to carry this forward in that same spirit," she added. (ANI)