Delhi Police have forcibly relocated activist Sonam Wangchuk to Safdarjung Hospital on Saturday morning, citing concerns over his deteriorating health after a 21-day indefinite hunger strike at Jantar Mantar, New Delhi. The move occurred amidst heavy police deployment as officials acted to enforce a Delhi High Court order requiring daily health monitoring and essential medical intervention for the activist.
“As per the orders of the High Court and on expert medical advice due to the deteriorating health condition of Sonam Wangchuk, he has been shifted to the hospital for essential medical care,” stated the New Delhi Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP). Authorities reported that while they exercised “maximum restraint,” a brief commotion ensued when protesters attempted to obstruct the removal.
Wangchuk, 59, had been fasting since June 28 to demand the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan regarding alleged irregularities in national medical entrance examinations (NEET).
His wife, Gitanjali Angmo, confirmed that he had been admitted in a hospital, while issuing a firm directive to medical staff: “Nothing should be administered to him orally or intravenously without taking consent from me, his family and his doctors who have been monitoring his health for the past 20 days.”
The activist had been protesting at Jantar Mantar in solidarity with the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), a satirical movement advocating for educational reform. Despite his physical decline, having lost nearly 20 percent of his body weight, Wangchuk had remained resolute, previously telling supporters: “I’ve grown weak from the outside but I’m strong from within”.
Shortly after Wangchuk was forcibly taken to the hospital, CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke announced the beginning of an indefinite hunger strike from the protest site. Dipke was subsequently taken into detention.
The group has since declared an escalation in its demands, now calling for the resignation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, stressing that a planned march to the parliament will proceed on July 20. Police have requested that remaining protesters vacate the Jantar Mantar site.
