Tensions flare as Indian police transfer activist Sonam Wangchuk to hospital
Authorities cite medical advice and court directive for Saturday’s operation at Jantar Mantar, while the party and Wangchuk’s family allege forcible removal without consent.
Indian police forcibly transferred environmentalist and activist Sonam Wangchuk to Safdarjung Hospital in New Delhi on Saturday, ending his 20-day hunger strike at the Jantar Mantar protest site. The operation, conducted amid heightened security and police barricades, has intensified friction between authorities and the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), a satirical political movement demanding the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan following allegations of exam paper leaks.
Police deputy commissioner Sachin Sharma confirmed that the transfer was executed under medical supervision and cited a High Court order. Sharma stated that the move followed medical advice and occurred after a brief commotion when protesters attempted to block the removal. “Mr. Sonam Wangchuk has been taken from here to an appropriate government hospital, a much-needed medical intervention, under medical supervision,” Sharma said, noting that security forces had deployed additional paramilitary soldiers as a precautionary measure.
The Cockroach Janta Party, which gained over 21 million Instagram followers after Supreme Court Chief Justice Surya Kant compared unemployed youth to “cockroaches,” strongly rejected the police account. Saurav Das, the party’s chief spokesperson, disputed the existence of a court order for forcible removal and questioned the medical grounds, stating that no doctor had examined Wangchuk shortly before the transfer. Das alleged that authorities were attempting to curb a protest movement that had been gaining significant momentum.
Wangchuk’s wife, Gitanjali J. Angmo, wrote to Safdarjung Hospital expressing a “lack of transparency” and demanding that no oral or intravenous treatment be administered without her consent. Abhijeet Dipke, the Boston University-educated founder of the Cockroach Party, alleged that police used force, covering Wangchuk in sheets and treating him “like criminals and goons.” Dipke announced he would begin a hunger strike in response and reaffirmed the party’s plan to march to Parliament on Monday, when the session begins.
The protest, which began in May, has become a rallying point for the CJP, which seeks sweeping examination reforms and compensation for families of students who died by suicide over the leaks. Despite the removal of Wangchuk, Dipke told The Associated Press that the movement’s resolve would only strengthen, insisting that the planned march to Parliament would proceed as scheduled.
