Gitanjali J Angmo, wife of Sonam Wangchuk, on Saturday questioned the presence of police personnel at Medanta Hospital and outside his ICU. She asked why police were controlling access to him after a court clarified that he was not under detention. Wangchuk ended his 26-day hunger strike on Friday and remains under care after losing 11 kg during the fast.
Angmo questions police presence at Medanta Hospital
Angmo raised the issue in a post on X. She said police personnel were present at several places inside Medanta Hospital and were deciding who could meet Wangchuk.
“At both Safdarjung and now Medanta, police are everywhere. At the main gate. The reception. The lifts. Outside @Wangchuk66’s ICU. They decide who may or may not meet him,” she said.
She also questioned the legal authority under which access to Wangchuk was being restricted.
“If the Court has clarified that he is not under detention, then under what authority is this happening? In an enlightened democracy, is the role of the police to protect citizens and uphold the law, or to control citizens on behalf of those in power? These are questions every Indian should be asking,” he said.
Wangchuk ends 26-day hunger strike
Wangchuk ended his 26-day hunger strike on Friday after receiving a written assurance from the Union government. The assurance concerned the NEET examination issue and reforms in the competitive examination system.
He ended the fast at Medanta Hospital in the presence of Union Ministers JP Nadda and Jitendra Singh.
Angmo asks people to show compassion
Angmo had earlier asked people to show compassion towards her husband. She said he was admitted to the ICU after losing 11 kg during the hunger strike.
“Before you rush to criticise Sonam Wangchuk, first pause to earn the ethos of fasting for 26 days for a cause larger than yourself. He lies in the ICU today, having lost 11 kg, including muscle mass, because he chose sacrifice over comfort,”
Wangchuk responds to criticism over ending fast
Wangchuk also responded to people who questioned his decision to end the hunger strike. In a video message, he said he should not have to prove his commitment to the students’ cause.
“After 26 days of fasting for the sake of students, losing 11 kilograms of body weight in which I have also lost muscle mass and my organs and brain reached the verge of irreversible damage… do I have to seek a character certificate from anyone about how sacred my fast was, about whose hands I broke it at, or whether I made a deal or not?”
CJP says its protest will continue
Meanwhile, the Cockroach Janta Party, or CJP, said its protest would continue until Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan resigned.
CJP activist Ashutosh Ranka alleged that Delhi Police personnel were stopping people from sending food and other help to demonstrators at Jantar Mantar.
“Dear Delhi Police, do whatever you want. You cannot stop people from coming to Jantar Mantar. You cannot stop people from having food. You cannot stop people from helping us. Most importantly, you cannot stop Pradhan’s resignation. He is going,”
Government reportedly seeks more time
CJP representatives held a meeting with Union Ministers JP Nadda and Jitendra Singh on Friday. The meeting continued for nearly two hours.
After the talks, CJP representatives claimed that the government had asked for time until Saturday afternoon to consider their demand for Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation.
Bureau Report
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