Sonam Wangchuk Moved to Safdarjung Hospital as Wife Disputes Medical Reports
On Saturday afternoon, July 18, 2026, activist Sonam Wangchuk was forcibly moved by police from his protest site at Jantar Mantar to Safdarjung Hospital in New Delhi. The relocation, which occurred on the 20th day of Wangchuk's hunger strike, triggered strong protests from his wife, Gitanjali Angmo, who expressed deep distrust in the hospital's medical reports and demanded his immediate transfer to another facility.
Angmo spoke to reporters outside Safdarjung Hospital around 1:00 PM, alleging a complete lack of transparency from the medical authorities. She claimed that on Friday evening, doctors from Safdarjung Hospital had checked Wangchuk and found his vitals normal, with a potassium level of 4.3 milliequivalents per litre. However, on Saturday, hospital staff informed the family that his potassium level had dropped to a life-threatening 2.9, while simultaneously refusing to share the physical or digital medical reports.
Angmo stated that she does not want anything to be given to her husband orally or intravenously without her consent, citing a severe breach of trust. She also questioned the heavy police presence at the hospital and the decision to bar mobile phones inside the building, comparing the atmosphere at the medical facility to a prison.
In a formal letter addressed to the Medical Superintendent of Safdarjung Hospital, Angmo requested her husband's immediate discharge so he could be moved to a medical centre of their choice. She noted that private doctors who had been monitoring Wangchuk over his 20-day fast were being denied access to him.
The forced hospitalization follows a Delhi High Court directive issued on July 15. Chief Justice D K Upadhyaya had ordered the central government to ensure Wangchuk's health is monitored daily by government doctors and to intervene immediately if his medical condition deteriorated, stating that life is precious.
Wangchuk's hunger strike was launched to demand a clean and competent education system. Despite his hospitalization, Angmo stated that a planned march for the first day of Parliament's Monsoon Session on Monday would proceed in Delhi and other cities across India, adding that she would represent her husband if he remained unable to participate.
