Social activist Sonam Wangchuk was shifted to Safdarjung Hospital early on Saturday morning after his health deteriorated on the 21st day of his indefinite hunger strike at Jantar Mantar, triggering protests by supporters and sharp political reactions from Opposition parties. Delhi Police said the decision to remove Wangchuk from the protest site was taken on medical advice and in compliance with a Delhi High Court direction to protect his life. Doctors had warned that the 59-year-old activist, who has been fasting since June 28, was suffering from severe dehydration and hypokalemia (low potassium) and faced the risk of organ failure.
Officials said he had lost nearly 9 kg during the fast. According to a health bulletin issued by Safdarjung Hospital, Wangchuk was admitted at 7.40 am with dehydration, generalised weakness and low potassium levels. He was conscious and haemodynamically (Heart rate, blood pressure, and cardiac output are within normal, safe limits) stable on admission, but tests showed worsening ketosis (A natural metabolic state where your body burns stored fat for energy instead of glucose). The hospital said he had refused intravenous fluids, oral rehydration and all medication and was being continuously monitored and counselled to accept treatment.
The operation to shift Wangchuk began before dawn following a strategy meeting chaired by newly appointed Delhi Police Commissioner Anurag Kumar, who assumed office a day earlier. According to police sources, the operation was planned to avoid confrontation while ensuring that Wangchuk received medical attention. Protesters claimed that between 7 am and 8 am, police personnel, many in plain clothes, entered the protest site as paramilitary forces formed an outer security cordon. Officers held up large white sheets to shield Wangchuk from public view while he was carried from the stage to a waiting ambulance. Protesters alleged the operation lasted less than 10 minutes and claimed electricity supply and mobile networks around the site were briefly disrupted, though there was no official confirmation.
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Supporters of the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP), under whose banner Wangchuk was observing the fast, attempted to stop the police from taking him away. CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke and several supporters were detained and later released. Police maintained that the intervention was based solely on medical considerations and was not intended to end the protest. His wife, Gitanjali J. Angmo, questioned the decision to hospitalise him, saying Wangchuk was stable when she met him on Friday evening. She said the family had not consented to the transfer and insisted that no treatment should be administered without his approval. Angmo also sought his transfer to a hospital chosen by the family, alleging that Safdarjung Hospital was not being transparent about his condition.
She disputed the hospital's assessment of his potassium levels, saying Wangchuk's personal physician did not believe his condition warranted forced hospitalisation. Wangchuk began his indefinite fast in support of the Cockroach Janata Party's campaign demanding the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over repeated examination paper leaks and seeking reforms in the education system. Following Wangchuk's removal, Dipke took over the hunger strike and said the party's planned "Chalo Sansad" march on July 20 would go ahead. The incident also marked the first major lawand-order challenge for Commissioner Anurag Kumar. Delhi Police maintained that the action was undertaken solely to safeguard Wangchuk's health and was in accordance with medical advice and judicial directions.
