NEW DELHI: Activist Sonam Wangchuk was removed from Jantar Mantar early Saturday and taken to VMMC & Safdarjung Hospital as his hunger strike against alleged irregularities in the NEET examination entered Day 21.Follow for LIVE updatesWangchuk was removed from the stage 48 hours before his planned march to Parliament, which is scheduled for the first day of the Monsoon Session on Monday.Amid heavy security, police personnel in plain clothes entered the protest site, climbed onto the stage, draped Wangchuk and the entire scene with a white sheet to prevent the operation from being captured on camera.The entire operation lasted just a few minutes.
Sonam Wangchuk was on an indefinite hunger strike for 21 days.
Simultaneously, Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke also claimed that he was detained.
CJP protest timeline
‘What a reign of thugs …’: Opposition attacks Centre
Opposition leaders across party lines on Saturday condemned the Delhi police action at Jantar Mantar after activist Sonam Wangchuk was taken to Safdarjung Hospital during his indefinite hunger strike.The leaders alleged that police used force against peaceful protesters, accusing the centre of suppressing dissent and questioning its response to Wangchuk’s demands over the NEET-UG paper leak.“What kind of thuggery is this going on? Modi ji, this arrogance of power doesn’t last long. The very youth you’re beating with batons will uproot your throne. One person @Wangchuk66 who has been on a fast unto death for the past 21 days, instead of listening to his demands, was forcibly arrested and admitted to the hospital,” AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh posted on X.Trinamool Congress leader Sagarika Ghose also criticised the police action. “What sort of shocking coercive state violence is this? The morally bankrupt @narendramodi regime only knows how to use the danda. UNACCEPTABLE,” she posted on X.NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar also criticised the government’s handling of Wangchuk’s protest, alleging it ignored students’ concerns and acted only after the situation became “uncontrollable”.
‘I’m starting an indefinite hunger strike’: Dipke
Cockroach Janta Party founder Abhijeet Dipke on Saturday announced that he has begun an indefinite hunger strike, saying the fast starts “right now” after activist Sonam Wangchuk was removed from the protest site at Jantar Mantar earlier in the day.Announcing the decision on X, Dipke wrote, “I am starting an indefinite hunger strike beginning right now,” marking the next phase of the group’s agitation.
Stable but requires continuous monitoring: Safdarjung Hospital
Climate activist Sonam Wangchuk remains stable but requires continuous observation, monitoring and treatment to restore his body parameters.According to Safdarjung Hospital, Wangchuk is “weak due to prolonged fasting and dehydration”.“Mr Sonam Wangchuck has been admitted to Safdarjung Hospital for the required health care. He is weak due to prolonged fasting and dehydration. Although he is currently stable, he requires continuous observation, monitoring and treatment to restore his body parameters,” the Safdarjung Hospital said.
‘No treatment should start without my consent: Wangchuk’s wife
Wangchuk’s wife Gitanjali J Angmo said that no medical treatment should be given to Wangchuk without her consent.“He is at Safdarjung Hospital. I forbid them from administering anything without my consent. No treatment should start without my consent,” Angmo told news agency PTI.“I hold everybody accountable if anything happens,” she added.Questioning the decision to hospitalise him, she claimed Wangchuk appeared fine on Friday.“Yesterday, he was doing fine. There was no need to bring him to the hospital. It’s my right under Article 32. Without my consent and my doctor’s consent, nothing can be administered,” she said.The Delhi Police has said that Wangchuk was shifted to the hospital for “essential medical care” following expert medical advice and in compliance with the Delhi High Court’s orders.
CJP targets PM Modi
CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke on Saturday escalated his demands, calling for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s resignation after Sonam Wangchuk was taken away from the protest site.“If they think that taking Sonam sir away will end this movement, they are mistaken. We will remain here and march to Parliament on July 20,” Dipke said.“Until now, we were demanding Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation. But after this despicable act, we will now demand Narendra Modi’s resignation,” he added.
What Delhi Police said
Delhi Police said the Ladakh activist was removed as per the orders of high court and on expert medical advise due to his deteriorating health condition.“He has been shifted to the hospital for essential medical care…We request the protestors at Jantar Mantar to peacefully vacate the place at the earliest,” DCP New Delhi posted on X.The police also urged the protestors at the site to “peacefully vacate the place at the earliest”, saying the cops faced obstruction while “complying with the orders” of the high court.“While complying with the orders of Hon’ble High Court the protestors tried to create obstruction, in which slight commotion ensued, however police took maximum restrain and undertook the exercise safely. We request the protestors at Jantar Mantar to peacefully vacate the place at the earliest,” the Delhi Police wrote on X.
Dipke claims Delhi Police beat him up
CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke on Saturday claimed that he was “beaten and put under detention” by the Delhi Police as chaos erupted at Jantar Mantar after Sonam Wangchuk was taken to hospital.In a social media post on X, Dipke alleged that the Delhi Police was cracking down at Jantar Mantar and beating people.Earlier, Dipke alleged that “goons tried to attack” activist Sonam Wangchuk at Jantar Mantar amid his ongoing hunger strike. In a social media post on X, Dipke said that an object was thrown at Wangchuk, but he was not hurt.“Goons tried to attack Sonam sir at Jantar Mantar. An object was thrown at him, but fortunately, he was not hurt,” Dipke said.
Action amid Wangchuk’s health concerns
According to Wangchuk’s medical team, as of 9.30 am on Friday, he showed signs of mild dehydration and weighed 56.55 kg, having lost 350 grams in the previous 24 hours as he entered Day 20 of the fast.His blood pressure was 108/68 mmHg, blood sugar 70 mg/dL and pulse 72 per minute. Doctors said he had entered the third stage of prolonged fasting, where organ involvement is possible, and remained under round-the-clock medical monitoring.Sonam Wangchuk lost more than 9kgs since beginning his indefinite hunger strike, with doctors warning that he may soon enter a potentially “alarming” phase involving organ damage.On the Day 19 of his fast, Dr Satish Lamba, providing an update on Wangchuk’s health, said the activist remained mentally alert and medically stable, but warned that doctors were closely monitoring his condition in case it deteriorated.
Detained before planned march
In a video message shared at the end of the Day 20 of his fast on Friday, Wangchuk urged people to join the CJP Parliament march on July 20 in large numbers, saying public participation was the movement’s biggest strength.“Yes, I am still alive. Twenty per cent of my body is gone. After fats, muscles are gone. After that, organs will go. Finally, the brain. The time has not come yet,” Wangchuk said.ALSO READ | Wangchuk shifted to Safdarjung hospital after 20 days of indefinite fastSeeking to reassure supporters about his condition, he added, “The 20th day is coming to an end. Let me prove that my mind is still fine.”Referring to questions over whether the ongoing agitation would lead to accountability or the resignation of Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan, Wangchuk said people often underestimated the power of mass movements.“I ask you — do the people of India love their children’s lives and education more, or onions?” he said, before recalling that governments had fallen in the past over public anger triggered by soaring onion prices.“Three times governments fell in India because of a people’s movement. Once in 1980, the central government fell. In 1998, the Delhi government fell. That year, the Rajasthan government also fell. And what was the movement about? Onion prices,” he said.The CJP was holding a protest at Jantar Mantar since June 20, demanding the resignation of Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan over alleged irregularities in the NEET examination, a judicial probe into the alleged examination scams and wider reforms in the examination system.Wangchuk joined the agitation on June 28 and was remain on an indefinite hunger strike since then.
