Tibetan businessman Pasang Wangchuk has been taken into custody by authorities in China's western province of Sichuan after launching a solitary protest challenging Beijing's rule in Tibetan areas, according to sources. He staged his protest on October 3rd in the downtown area of the Kardze (in Chinese, Ganzi) county seat in Kardze prefecture, a Tibetan living in India told RFA's Tibetan Service, citing sources in Kardze. "He called out for the return of[exiled spiritual leader] the Dalai Lama to Tibet," RFA's source said. During his solo protest Wangchuk also carried a banner bearing slogans calling for the Dalai Lama's long life and for human rights and religious freedom in Tibet, the source said. "He was able to protest for about ten minutes before he was overpowered by police and taken away," he said. No further details were immediately available regarding Wangchuk's condition or where he was taken. Reached by RFA for comment, an officer at the Kardze county police office angrily hung up the phone. UPDATE 3rd November 2014: Pasang Wangchuk, 37, a businessman and father of three, detained in China's Sichuan province last month for launching a solitary protest challenging Beijing's rule in Tibetan areas has been freed after being interrogated over slogans he wrote on his protest banner, Tibetan sources said. He was taken into custody on Oct. 3 as he protested in the downtown area of the Kardze (in Chinese, Ganzi) county seat in the Kardze Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, calling out for human rights and religious freedom in Tibet, sources said. "He was released around 5:00 p.m. on Nov. 3," a Tibetan living in Nepal told RFA's Tibetan Service on Friday, citing local sources. "I could not speak to him directly, but it is confirmed that he has been released," the source said, adding that his contacts could not say whether Wangchuk had been beaten or tortured during the month he spent in jail-a punishment most detained Tibetan protesters say they undergo. "It is also unclear why he was freed," the source continued, speaking on condition of anonymity. During his solo protest, Wangchuk-who is also known as Ngodru-carried a banner bearing slogans calling for the long life of exiled Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama and shouted slogans calling for the Dalai Lama's return to Tibet, sources had said. "We have now learned that he also wrote slogans on his banner urging Tibetans to "remember our heroic patriots' and calling for a peaceful dialogue to resolve the question of Tibet," RFA's source said on Friday. "During his detention, he was questioned mainly about these writings on his banner," he said. Wangchuk's release has fueled various speculations. "Some say that he was released because of "improving conditions' in the area, while others say that he was freed because he is a well-known businessman with good connections," the source said. "Others are saying that some of his close business associates paid for his release," he said.