Various organisations from western Rajasthan held a peaceful demonstration outside the Jodhpur Central Jail on Wednesday demanding the immediate release of environmental activist and innovator Sonam Wangchuk.
The protest, led by the Rajasthan Sonam Wangchuk Release Forum, was held near the main gate of the jail, where demonstrators staged a dharna in support of their demand.
Independent Gandhian activist Himanshu Kumar and People’s Union for Civil Liberties chief Kavita Srivastava also joined the protest.
Kumar, who has worked for Adivasi rights in Bastar for over two decades, reached Jodhpur on Wednesday as part of his over 250-km padyatra across western Rajasthan to mobilise support for Wangchuk’s release.
The protesters later sought permission to proceed towards the jail to meet Wangchuk, but police did not allow them and barricaded the road leading to the prison, officials said.
A memorandum addressed to the district collector demanding Wangchuk’s immediate release was submitted by the demonstrators.
The forum alleged that Wangchuk had been detained under the National Security Act in an “undemocratic and unlawful manner”.
Wangchuk was arrested in Ladakh on September 26, 2025, and is currently lodged in Jodhpur Central Jail under the NSA, according to officials.