New Delhi, July 2026 — A dawn operation by the Delhi Police at Jantar Mantar has cut short climate activist Sonam Wangchuk’s 21-day hunger strike, sparking a fierce political standoff.
While authorities frame the removal as a medical necessity, student leaders call it a violent crackdown on a peaceful protest against exam leaks.
The Medical Intervention vs. Forced Eviction On Saturday morning, Delhi Police forcibly removed the 60-year-old scientist and activist from his protest site, shifting him to Safdarjung Hospital.
- The Police Stance: Authorities state they acted strictly under Delhi High Court directions and expert medical advice due to Wangchuk’s deteriorating health after three weeks of fasting.
- The Hospital Update: Medical officials confirmed that while Wangchuk remains weak and dehydrated from his fast, his condition is currently stable. Police have denied all allegations of using excessive force and have ordered remaining protestors to clear the area.
Allegations of Police Brutality Protest organizers tell a radically different story. Abhijit Deepke, founder of the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP), accused the police of launching an aggressive, heavy-handed assault on peaceful demonstrators.
Deepke claimed that he and several student protestors were physically beaten, dragged through the streets, and temporarily detained. Demonstrators displayed torn clothing and claimed that police officers confiscated their mobile phones to prevent them from recording the incident.
The Root Cause: The NEET-UG Paper Leak The high-stakes standoff at Jantar Mantar stems from widespread anger over systemic educational irregularities. Wangchuk and the CJP have been leading the demonstration to demand accountability over the controversial NEET-UG paper leak.
Their primary demand is the immediate resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. In a bid to protect her husband, Wangchuk’s wife, Gitanjali J. Angmo, has formally requested that hospital staff administer no oral or intravenous treatments without the direct consent of his family and core medical team.
The Protest Moves Forward Rather than silencing the movement, the police operation has intensified the friction. Labeling the government’s actions as dictatorial, Deepke announced that he has immediately begun his own indefinite hunger strike at Jantar Mantar to sustain the momentum.
Despite the clearing of the site, student leaders refuse to back down. They have signaled that their planned peaceful march to Parliament will proceed on July 20th, intentionally timed to coincide with the opening day of the Parliament’s Monsoon Session.
