30-second plan: How Delhi Police forcibly took Sonam Wangchuk

New Delhi: Approximately four hours before chaos erupted at Jantar Mantar in Delhi when Sonam Wangchuk was “forcibly removed” by the Delhi Police, every single New Delhi district police officer was given a call to assemble.

According to an Indian Express (IE) report citing sources, on Friday, July 17, all the Station House Officers (SHO) of the district received a message at 11 pm. They were informed of a security drill on Saturday, July 18, in the morning for the Monsoon Session of Parliament.

The SHOs, accompanied by 10 other police personnel, were then asked to reach the Parliament Street police station by 3 am. However, after all of the officers reached the spot, they were taken to Mandir Marg police station, where they were allegedly briefed on how to remove the activist, on his 21st day of fast, from the protest site in about “30 seconds.”

“They were taken to Mandir Marg Police Station where they were briefed by the Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) (New Delhi district) Sachin Sharma about their exact plan. They were informed that they were there to execute a plan to remove Wangchuk from the protest site,” the source told IE.

The small window of time

While not the most elaborate, the plan was efficient enough to have worked. The Delhi Police figured out a key detail. “They learnt of a small window of some minutes in the morning when Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke went out to a nearby restroom,” said the source.

That is the exact window of time when the police decided to act. 

“They were informed they would have to wait for Dipke’s movement and remove Wangchuk within 30 seconds,” the source said. They also parked one ambulance near Kerala House in Jantar Mantar to shift the activist to the hospital.

The Cockroach Janta Party, led by founder Abhijeet Dipke, along with several youth, has been protesting at Jantar Mantar against the repeated paper leaks and demanding the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. Activist and educationist Wangchuk joined the protest and began his hunger strike on June 28.

Change in Commissioner of Police

Notably, a day before Wangchuk was removed by the authorities, the Union Ministry of Home Affairs suddenly removed Satish Golchha as the Delhi Police Commissioner and appointed Anurag Kumar in his stead. The change in personnel was linked to the way the police handled the earlier Cockroach Janta Party protest at Jantar Mantar, the IE reported.

During the previous CJP protest, all police personnel were called to the Delhi Police headquarters for a briefing. At the time, the plan details were reportedly leaked, but this time, the senior police officers alone were made aware of the exact plan.

‘Within two minutes, he was picked up’

The planning began at 3 am on Saturday, and by 6:30 am, multiple police officers arrived at the site and acted quickly. When Dipke went to take a bath at a nearby restroom, the officers went to the stage and began unfolding white curtain-like sheets to cover the area near Wangchuk.

“Within two minutes, he was picked up by four to five policemen and was taken in an ambulance to Safdarjung Hospital. The police then started removing all the protesters. At the same time, a police team stopped Dipke,” the source said.

Dipke had claimed that the Delhi Police “cracked down” on protesters, “beat up people” and “took away Sonam sir forcefully.” He further claimed that students were lathicharged and that he himself was beaten and detained by the police.

Delhi Police, meanwhile, maintained that the move was carried out on medical advice and in compliance with the Delhi High Court’s directions. They said Wangchuk was shifted for “essential medical care” following expert medical advice and court directions. 

Speaking to IANS, Dipke said the police acted like “thieves and goons,” who “dragged” Wangchuk away and labelled them as “RSS goons.”

“It is very shameful. Like thieves and goons, the Delhi Police hid and dragged him (Sonam Wangchuk) away. This is not the Delhi Police; these are RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh) goons. They came secretly and, like thieves, covered Sonam Sir with a sheet, hid him, and dragged him away, just like criminals or the mafia kidnap people.”

He vowed to continue the protest and announced that he was beginning an indefinite hunger strike.

Sonam Wangchuk’s wife Gitanjali J Angmo has told reporters that her husband’s fast is ongoing and he is not to be administered anything without consent.