3 min readJul 26, 2026 11:40 AM IST
Activist Sonam Wangchuk, who recently ended his 26-day-long hunger strike, has shared a video on YouTube, showing a heated confrontation with the police personnel stationed at Safdarjung Hospital.
In the video, a visibly irked Wangchuk is seen coming out of his ward, while arguing with the cops after he was denied leave to shift to Medanta Hospital in Gurgaon.
He compared his admission to Safdarjung Hospital with a detention where no one could enter, no devices like mobile phones or laptops were allowed, and none were allowed to meet him. He said that the hospital staff did not allow any of his visitors who had travelled from Ladakh to meet him. He said that the hospital was like a ‘Cant’ and compared his stay there to being confined in a jail, surrounded by 150 police personnel at all times.
Don’t know why court order was withheld: Sonam Wangchuk
Wangchuk said that despite the court ruling granting permission to shift him to a hospital of their choice, the staff at Safdarjung Hospital did not allow him to move. While the court released the order around 2 pm, the hospital denied having received it, and did not allow Wangchuk to leave until 7 pm, he alleged.
In the video, he said that he had to argue with the limited energy he had after 22 days of hunger strike just to make the police come to an agreement. He said he was not sure why the court order was withheld from the hospital staff and the intention behind it.
In the video, Sonam Wangchuk is seen asking the police personnel to arrest him instead if they can’t allow him to move. He said, “Ask them to arrest me. You all are harassing me. If I die of stress, it will be your responsibility. If you have been given the Court’s order, you can’t misbehave with me now. The whole world has the High Court order, but somehow you have not received it yet. Then, you should question why you still haven’t received the order.”
When not allowed to leave the hospital premises despite this altercation, Wangchuk reclined on the floor.
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Wangchuk said that he was compelled to share the video clip because some people doubted his intentions for the strike. He said that he wanted to ensure people understand his side of the story and the struggle faced by his family while he was admitted to Safdarjung Hospital. In the video, he also expressed concern about people demanding a ‘character certificate.’
Wangchuk was forcibly shifted to Safdarjung Hospital by the Delhi Police on July 18. His wife, Gitanjali Angmo, called it a ‘detention’ and filed a petition in Delhi High Court seeking admission of Wangchuk in a hospital of their choice.
After denying the permission in the first hearing, the HC agreed to the petition on July 21. Wangchuk was then moved to Medanta Hospital in Gurgaon.