Indian activist on hunger strike for 20 days forcibly taken to hospital

What the report says

BBC World News reports that Indian activist and educationist Sonam Wangchuk was taken by police from a protest site in Delhi on 18 July after 20 days on hunger strike. Wangchuk, 59, had been fasting at Jantar Mantar in support of the Cockroach Janta Party, an online satirical movement calling for education reforms and action over exam paper leaks. Protesters had planned to march to India’s parliament on 20 July.

According to the BBC, video from the scene showed police and paramilitary personnel arriving shortly before 07:30 local time and removing Wangchuk from the stage where he had been lying. His wife, Gitanjali Angmo, later said on X that he had been admitted to Safdarjung Hospital and asked that no treatment be given without consent from his family and doctors. A hospital official told ANI that Wangchuk was alert and stable, though weak and mildly dehydrated after prolonged fasting.

Delhi police official Sachin Sharma said the move followed a Delhi High Court order requiring health monitoring and necessary treatment, and was based on medical advice. Wangchuk had consumed only salt and water during the strike, lost more than 9kg, and had said he still intended to join the march.

CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke has begun an indefinite fast in Wangchuk’s place and said the parliament march would continue. The movement, which began in May, is demanding Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation over exam irregularities; after Wangchuk’s removal, Dipke also called for Prime Minister Narendra Modi to resign. Opposition figures condemned the police action, while Pradhan has dismissed the protesters as disruptive.