Rigtse is from Bharong Village in Sershul (Ch: Shiqu) County, Kardze (Ch: Ganzi) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan Province, in the traditional Dzachuka area in Kham province.

Rigtse was detained incommunicado for almost two years before he was sentenced on an unknown date in June this year.He was sentenced to 3 years in prison.

In September 2020 two monks were detained for keeping a photo of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and other information about the Tibetan political situation on their phones. At the time, a monk was detained along with Dhargay but his identity could not be confirmed. It has now emerged that the other monk’s name is Rigtse.