New Delhi: A day after activist Sonam Wangchuk, who had been on a hunger strike for the past 20 days, was “forcibly removed” from the Jantar Mantar protest site, doctors at Sardarjung Hospital said Sunday that his blood parameters remain marginally altered.
The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) protest, meanwhile, continued at Jantar Mantar. People from across India continued to gather at the site, raising the demands for resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, and against the “forceful removal” of Wangchuk.
A health bulletin issued Sunday morning by Safdarjung Hospital said Sonam Wangchuk is being given the required “medical intervention” at Vardhman Mahavir Medical College and Safdarjung Hospital.
“His vital parameters are stable at present; however, his blood parameters remain marginally altered, and considering the physiological stress and systemic effects of prolonged fasting, he requires continuous medical care under the close observation of a multidisciplinary team of experts.”
Further, the bulletin said, “The treating teams of doctors from VMMC and Safdarjung Hospital and AlIMS, New Delhi, are of the considered opinion that sustained medical intervention and round-the-clock clinical monitoring are essential to promptly detect and manage any potential complications that may arise despite his currently stable condition.”
Adding, “Accordingly, all necessary medical care is being provided, and his clinical status, including his blood parameters, is being continuously monitored.”
Meanwhile, Wangchuk’s wife Gitanjali Angmo took to X to say she had “lost faith” in Safdarjung hospital. She claimed the hospital told them Wangchuk’s potassium had dropped to 2.9, describing it as alarming and life-threatening. “Yet, in its public health bulletin, it conveniently omitted the actual number, referring only to ‘decreasing potassium levels’.”
She said, an independent laboratory test reported it at 3.5, well within the normal range. “Despite repeated requests, the hospital has refused to discharge him or allow us to shift him to a private hospital of our choice. With around 30 police personnel stationed on our floor and well over 100 across the hospital, our movement is severely restricted,” she said.
“It is not medical care. It is illegal detention,” Gitanjali went on to add.
She also said that if anything were to happen to Wangchuk, “the hospital authorities and the government must bear full responsibility”.
Gitanjali has also moved the Delhi High Court and sought an urgent hearing Sunday, for permission to shift Wangchuk before his health deteriorates further. “No family should have to fight the system simply to choose where their loved one receives medical care,” she added.
Also read: Sonam Wangchuk’s hunger strike exposes the limits of moral protest in today’s India
Wangchuk taken away from protest site
The hospital has been monitoring Wangchuk round the clock.
It was on Saturday, when police personnel reached the protest site around 7 am, dispersed the protesters and took Wangchuk away amid allegations of a forceful evacuation. Some protesters also clashed with personnel from the Rapid Action Force (RAF), CRPF and Delhi Police as repeated announcements were made asking them to vacate the site.
In a statement, the Delhi Police said it had acted in accordance with the directions of the Delhi High Court and on the advice of medical experts due to Wangchuk’s deteriorating health.
Hours after Wangchuk was taken to the hospital, his wife, Gitanjali Angmo said, “nothing should be administered to him orally or intravenously” without consent taken from her, his family, and his doctor, who has been monitoring his health for the past 20 days. Hours later, Gitanjali again took to X, where she said Safdarjung Hospital’s report says Wangchuk’s potassium level is 2.9 whereas just yesterday it was 4.3.
She had claimed they did not allow her to either get a second opinion by taking him to another lab, and nor was she given a blood sample in her presence which she could get tested elsewhere. “I have been waiting since 3 hours but they haven’t obliged us yet. This lack of transparency is making us suspicious and we have asked to be discharged immediately so that we can go to a hospital that we are comfortable with,” Gitanjali had said.
(Edited by Amrtansh Arora)