The fact-checking unit of the Press Information Bureau (PIB) on Tuesday flagged a “deepfake” video of Ladakh DGP Dr SD Singh in which he is heard making a statement on climate activist Sonam Wangchuk’s arrest.
In the purported video that has since gone viral on social media, the Ladakh DGP is heard claiming that Wangchuk was arrested on the directions of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh without any evidence.
However, the PIB dismissed the video as “deepfake”, clarifying that the “DGP Ladakh has made NO such statement”.
The PIB also shared a link to the original video statement by the Ladakh DGP, which contains no such claims.
The agency has also urged people not to fall for such fake videos and always verify the content before sharing on social media.
Wangchuk was arrested by a Ladakh police team led by DGP SD Singh Jamwal on Friday (Sept 26), two days after his Ladakh statehood agitation turned violent. The violence resulted in the death of at least four people in police firing.
The government had accused Wangchuk of instigating the violence with his provocative speeches, a charge he outrightly denied.
Before his arrest, the government had revoked the foreign funding licence of his non-profit NGO, Students’ Educational and Cultural Movement of Ladakh, citing alleged FCRA violations.
In its order, the government cited ‘repeated’ violations of the law governing foreign funding for such non-profit organisations.
It further noted the NGO was served a show-cause notice on August 20, 2025, but the response submitted by the organisation on September 19 failed to satisfactorily explain the irregularities.
Reacting to the government action, Wangchuk had alleged a “witch hunt”. He also explained that the foreign funds he received were the fees in exchange for sharing knowledge.
“The United Nations team wanted to take our Passive Solar Heated Building to Afghanistan, and for this, they gave us a fee. We also got fees with tax from Switzerland and Italy organisations for supplying knowledge to them about our artificial glaciers,” Wangchuk had stated.
He is currently lodged in a jail in Jodhpur, Rajasthan.
