At 3 am on Saturday, nearly four hours before activist Sonam Wangchuk was taken from the Jantar Mantar protest site by Delhi Police, all New Delhi district officers gathered there for what they believed was a security drill ahead of the Monsoon Session in Parliament, according to sources. They were later moved to Mandir Marg police station and told Wangchuk would be removed within 30 seconds. Shortly before the action, officers set up a phone jammer. Around 6.30 am they hung a white curtain across the stage and took Wangchuk away before observers could see the events behind it.
Wangchuk had been fasting since June 28 in a demonstration by the Cockroach Janta Party calling for changes to the exam system and the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan following repeated paper leaks.
The removal occurred one day after the Union Home Ministry replaced Delhi Police Commissioner Satish Golchha with Anurag Kumar. Golchha’s departure was reportedly tied to management of the Cockroach Janta Party protest.
After assuming the post, Kumar consulted senior officers and devised a plan to remove Wangchuk. They identified a brief morning period when Cockroach Janta Party founder Abhijeet Dipke left for a nearby restroom and chose that moment to act.
In the previous protest by the group, details had leaked after a broad briefing. This time only senior officers knew the plan.
On Friday at 11 pm, station house officers in New Delhi district received notice of a Saturday morning security drill. They were told to arrive at Parliament Street police station by 3 am with ten personnel each. At Mandir Marg they learned the real task: wait for Dipke’s departure and remove Wangchuk in 30 seconds. An ambulance was positioned near Kerala House.
When Dipke left around 6.30 am, officers reached the stage, hung the curtain and lifted Wangchuk. Within two minutes he was placed in the ambulance and taken to Safdarjung Hospital. Police then cleared remaining protesters and detained Dipke.
Several opposition parties, including Congress, Trinamool Congress, Samajwadi Party and Shiv Sena (UBT), have backed Wangchuk and urged the Centre to hold talks with him and dismiss Pradhan.
