Climate activist Sonam Wangchuk has claimed that he has been placed under house arrest with dozens of uniformed men stationed outside his residence as well as institute in Leh.Late Thursday evening, he also posted videos on social media purportedly showing him being moved from a tent where he was resting ahead of a protest against the administration’s decision to conduct the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC) polls on December 4.On Friday, Wangchuk said he attempted to leave his home but was stopped from doing so by police personnel posted outside his residence. “They may say this is an advice to stay home but clearly, I am not being allowed to move out,” he said in a video.As election approaches, nominations for which have already begun, social and political representatives in the region have begun to intensify protests against the conduct of the polls, citing harsh weather and migration of local residents to warmer climates.Also Read | Year after Ladakh protests, Sonam Wangchuk to lead marchKargil shut down for a day on November 8 while scores of people in Leh held a sit-in protest on Thursday against the decision to hold polls “in such haste”.“Dozens of armed guards surround my house while the government version says ‘I have been advised to stay at home’. All for asking uncomfortable questions like… why is the Judicial Enquiry Commission Report (of last year’s killings in Leh) delayed and a phoney council election is foisted on people with rocket speed in mid-winter. Whole of Ladakh is in protest,” Wangchuk said.For the first time, eight councils will take shape in Ladakh as six new districts were added to the border region this year. Earlier, two district councils — Leh and Kargil — elected 26 councillors that were responsible for planning and development of the region, with powers vested in the LAHDC Act, 1997.Story continues below this adSeeking a deferment of the proposed LAHDC elections, Wangchuk had attempted to lead a protest in Leh Wednesday evening. However, police said that Wangchuk was escorted back to his residence and “advised” to stay there “in compliance with the prohibitory orders issued by the Chief Electoral Officer, UT Ladakh, and the District Magistrate, Leh, regulating public rallies, protests and other public gatherings within the limits of Leh Municipality.”Must Read | ‘Chai was nice, but nothing moved forward’: Sonam Wangchuk on Ladakh talksWangchuk has also written to Union Home Minister Amit Shah, along with Ladakh Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena, chief secretary Ashish Kundra and senior police leadership of Ladakh, seeking a clarification on the circumstances of his house arrest.Citing an order issued by the Additional District Magistrate Leh, Wangchuk highlighted that his freedom of movement and speech is being curtailed. “The imposition of the Model Code of Conduct, as recorded in the order, cannot, by itself, be invoked as a blanket justification to curtail this right or to impose restrictions that effectively confine me to my residence, in the absence of any intervening reason,” he wrote.He also stated that “no explicit order of house arrest or directing deployment of police personnel was shown to me then,” and none has been served since. He also stated that while he is not aware of any threats to him, “no written order authorising this deployment has been furnished to me, and I do not know who directed it, on what date, or under what provision of law.”He said, “I would be grateful to be informed of these particulars, to be kindly furnished with a copy of the order or requisition under which the personnel have been posted.”