Gitanjali J. Angmo, wife of Ladakh statehood campaigner Sonam Wangchuk, on Wednesday urged Droupadi Murmu to help secure her husband’s release from jail, appealing to the President’s tribal identity that she felt would enable her to empathise with the people of Ladakh.

“Your Excellency, You being from a tribal community/background, would understand the feelings of the people of Leh Ladakh better than anyone else,” Gitanjali said in her letter to Murmu.

“We appeal to your wisdom and good sense as the head of the state to intervene and inject voice of sanity in an otherwise chaotic state of affairs. As the President of India, you embody the principles of Equity, Justice and Conscience!” she added.

Sonam was arrested on September 26 under the stringent National Security Act after a violent protest erupted in the Union Territory.

Requesting an unconditional release of her husband, Gitanjali said he was not a threat to anyone.

Gitanjali has also written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, law minister Arjun Ram Meghwal and Ladakh lieutenant governor Kavinder Gupta.

She asked whether she did not have the right to meet her husband or speak to him over the phone. “Am I not entitled to know the condition of my husband who is in detention since September 26, 2025, with no communication with me or anyone else close to us?” she wrote.

She reiterated that a witch-hunt had been unleashed to kill Sonam’s spirit and the causes he had been fighting for. “The people of this country are reaching out in solidarity and support, ‘shocked’ by the government action against a peaceful Gandhian protester with an impeccable track record of service to the nation,” Gitanjali said, underlining that Ladakh is known for its nationalism and the support it provided to the army.

“Apart from the illegal detention of my husband, the manner in which the State and its agencies are hounding us and have kept us under surveillance is deplorable,”
she added.