Delhi police officers disguised as medical personnel removed climate activist Sonam Wangchuk from a demonstration at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi.
The incident highlights the escalating tension between the Indian government and activists seeking constitutional protections for the Ladakh region. Demonstrators have been demanding statehood, and safeguards under the Sixth Schedule, to protect the area's fragile environment and cultural identity.
An unnamed protester said that about 10 police officers [1] arrived early in the morning claiming to be a medical team. The protester said they realized the officers were police because they did not look like doctors and ordered volunteers to move aside [1].
Wangchuk was forcefully picked up and later shifted to a hospital [2]. The removal occurred on day 21 [2] of his hunger strike, a protest intended to draw national attention to the grievances of the Ladakhi people.
"Early in the morning, they sent in about ten police officers, claiming they were a medical team," the protester said. "We realized they were police since they didn't look like doctors and they ordered all the volunteers to move aside" [1].
The Chalo Jantar Mantar demonstration has become a focal point for those arguing that Ladakh requires specific legal status to prevent ecological degradation. The use of deceptive tactics by law enforcement to remove a high-profile activist on a hunger strike adds a layer of controversy to the ongoing standoff between the state and regional advocates.
“"Police came as medics," a protester said.”
The removal of Sonam Wangchuk through deceptive police tactics suggests a strategy by authorities to neutralize high-profile protests without triggering immediate violent clashes. By framing the removal as a medical necessity during a prolonged hunger strike, the state can justify the intervention while effectively ending the public visibility of the demonstration at Jantar Mantar.
