Scientist and activist Sonam Wangchuk’s wife Gitanjali Angmo questioned the heavy deployment of police in the hospital where he is admitting, claiming that the authorities are deciding who “may or may not meet him”.
Event Context
Angmo shared a picture from the hospital on Saturday showing several police officers standing in the lobby of Medanta Hospital in Gurugram where Wangchuk is currently admitted after Delhi high court’s order.
A clip in the video showed Wangchuk trying to get away from Safdarjung Hospital but being denied exit by cops positioned on the hospital floor. The confrontation turned aggressive as Wangchuk lay on the ground, refusing to move from the spot.
“The video was reportedly recorded before the hospital administration received the written order of the high court. At that time, Mr Wangchuk insisted on leaving the hospital based on information available in the media,” the hospital’s statement said, as per PTI report.
Currently, Wangchuk is under recovery at Medanta Hospital. The CJP has vowed to continue its nationwide protests until Pradhan’s resignation. Representatives from the party are scheduled to have another round of talks with Nadda and Singh in the afternoon. Track CJP protest LIVE updates here
Team Analysis
He was earlier taken to Delhi’s Safdarjung Hospital by Delhi police amid his hunger strike in support of students demanding education minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation. This fast was broken late Thursday night when Union ministers JP Nadda and Jitendra Singh visited him at the hospital to convey the government’s decision to concede to some of his demands.
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In the post shared by Angmo, she questioned the heavy deployment of police at Medanta Hospital and said that “police are everywhere”.
“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. If the Court has clarified that he is not under detention, then under what authority is this happening?” she questioned.
“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,” she added.
The official Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) handle also drew attention to Angmo’s post.
Angmo’s post comes after Wangchuk also shared a video late Friday night questioning whether he still needed a “character certificate” after 26 days of hunger strike, following allegations of a “deal” with the government.
“Arrest me. Why are you forcing… people, this is torture. Now arrest me if you want, you understand? Arrest me, arrest me. You can stop me wherever, let the nation know how,” he can be heard saying angrily in the video taken and uploaded by an aide from his team as cops try to chase him down the hospital corridor.
“It is digitally everywhere. The world knows except you. The world knows,” he says in reference to the Delhi High Court order allowing him to be transferred to Medanta Hospital.
In his YouTube video, Wangchuk also addressed questions regarding why he dropped education minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation as well as the manner in which he broke his fast by saying that he feared a violent government crackdown similar to the one seen in Ladakh during his last hunger strike. He emphasised that his priorities in this instance were to ensure legal impunity for all students who are protesting peacefully.
Officials have clarified that the video was recorded at Safdarjung Hospital on July 21, the day of the High Court order. “This is from July 21 July, the day when the court informed Sonam’s family that he can be moved to Medanta hospital,” an official said.
“He was trying to leave for Medanta hospital, but was not allowed, as we were waiting for the court orders to come to us first and hence we were stopping him,” the official clarified as the reason for attempts to block Wangchuk’s exit.
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Safdarjung Hospital cited a similar reason by stating that all preparations were in place to handover Wangchuk to the medical team at Medanta Hospital as soon as the High Court order officially reached them.
“It is pertinent to note that Mr Wangchuk was handed over to the team of doctors from Medanta Gurugram on the same day at 6:40 pm, immediately after the written order was received by the hospital.”
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In a 22-minute long tell-all video posted on his YouTube handle, Wangchuk alleged ill-treatment via police occupation at Safdarjung Hospital and refusal to let him go after a High Court order granted him permission to shift to a private facility of his choice.
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