CJP protest: Police remove Wangchuk from Jantar Mantar, Dipke announces indefinite hunger strike

Activist Sonam Wangchuk, who has been on a hunger strike since June 28, was taken away from the protest site at Jantar Mantar on Saturday morning, with the Delhi Police saying he had been shifted to hospital for “essential medical care” in compliance with a High Court order.

The activist has been admitted to the Safdarjung Hospital, Wangchuk’s wife Gitanjali Angmo said in a social media post.

Wangchuk’s fast, which is part of a protest led by the Cockroach Janta Party demanding the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over the alleged mismanagement of competitive examinations, entered its 21st day on Saturday.

Here are more updates from the protest:

• Four members of the All India Students’ Association – Neha Bora, Manish Kumar, Aameen Amitosh and Hamad – continued their hunger strike after Wangchuk was taken away from the protest site. Protesters formed a human chain to prevent the police from forcibly removing them.
• Cockroach Janta Party founder Abhijeet Dipke, who had been allegedly stopped by the police from returning to the protest site, reached Jantar Mantar on Saturday morning and announced that he would begin an indefinite hunger strike. He also called for nationwide peaceful protests. “We need to send a message that the people won’t accept this kind of dictatorship,” he said in a video shared by the...

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