Sonam Wangchuk Arrest: The CJP claimed that Sonam Wangchuk was forcibly removed from the protest site by Delhi Police.
Chaotic scenes broke out on Saturday morning at the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) protest site as activist Sonam Wangchuk, on an indefinite hunger strike, was taken to Safdarjung Hospital by Delhi Police.
While police said the hospitalization was based on a Delhi High Court order monitoring Wangchuk’s health, CJP’s Abhijit Debke claimed the climate activist was “forced away”. Follow live updates on the CJP protest chaos
Some students also claimed that they were beaten with lathis at the protest site.
Wangchuk has been on a hunger strike for the past 21 days to support students who are protesting to demand the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over irregularities in competitive examinations, including NEET which had to be canceled due to the paper leak scam.
Police confirm there was a “minor disturbance” at the site
Delhi Police said in a statement that Wangchuk was transferred to Safdarjung Hospital in Delhi due to his deteriorating health condition.
“Based on the orders of the Hon’ble Supreme Court and on expert medical advice due to the deteriorating health condition of Sheikh Sonam Wangchuk, he was shifted to hospital for basic medical care. While complying with the orders of the Hon’ble Supreme Court, the protesters tried to create obstruction, resulting in minor commotion, but the police exercised utmost restraint and carried out the exercise safely. We request the protesters at Jantar Mantar to vacate the place peacefully as soon as possible,” Delhi Police said in a statement.
Sharma denied that police beat Debaki or any protesters, and that they were only trying to remove Wangchuk from the protest site.
Meanwhile, Abhijit Debaki said that he was beaten and taken into custody by Delhi Police. “I was beaten and detained by Delhi Police,” Debki wrote on X. In another post, he alleged that police were suppressing CJP protest at Jantar Mantar and people were being beaten there.
The demonstrators claimed that the police came in civilian clothes
CJP protesters at Jantar Mantar claimed that police personnel arrived at the site and claimed to be a medical team. Novosti news agency quoted one of the demonstrators as saying that they ordered the volunteers to move aside.
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“Early in the morning, they sent about ten police officers, claiming to be a medical team. We realized they were police because they didn’t look like doctors and they ordered all the volunteers to move aside. We kept asking them to wait, but suddenly they announced that there was a Supreme Court order requiring them to take Sonam Sir away. Meanwhile, Abhijeet had just gone to use the bathroom; I think they also arrested him and that’s why he can’t come here, and his phone is offline too… All the policemen were in plain clothes,” the protester said.
Debke’s big attack allegation
Meanwhile, late on Friday night, Abhijit Debke claimed that Wangchuk was attacked at the protest site in Jantar Mantar.
On Friday, his health indicators showed that his weight reached 56.55 kg, a decrease of 350 grams in 24 hours. His blood pressure was recorded at 108/68, blood sugar at 70 mg/dl and pulse rate at 72 per minute, according to Dr Satish Lamba of Delhi Medical Association.
Several opposition leaders visited Wangchuk in Jantar Mantar on Friday to express their solidarity and inquire about his health. Among those who met him were Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convenor Arvind Kejriwal, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) MP Supriya Sule, SP MP Dimple Yadav, Congress leader Pawan Khera and Shiv Sena (UBT) MLA Aaditya Thackeray.
With inputs from Jignasa Sinha
