‘Making us suspicious’: Sonam Wangchuk's wife flags potassium test result, seeks immediate discharge

Gitanjali J. Angmo, the wife of climate activist Sonam Wangchuk, on Saturday appealed to medical superintendent of Delhi's Safdarjung Hospital, stating that the activist must be shifted to medical centre of their choice, citing the “lack of transparency has shaken their trust”, according to her letter to the hospital. This comes after police action at Jantar Mantar earlier today.

Sonam Wangchuk hospitalisation: 10 updates

1. Activist Sonam Wangchuk is "absolutely fine", his wife Angmo said.

2. Angmo mentioned doctors had informed the family that Wangchuk's potassium level had dropped to 2.9 from 4.3 a day earlier but claimed that Safdarjung Hospital has refused to provide copies of his medical reports despite repeated requests,

"Yesterday, doctors from Safdarjung had checked him and all vitals were normal. Potassium was 4.3. Now they are saying the potassium is 2.9 and it is life-threatening. But when we asked for the report, they are showing us the report but not giving it. I am having trust issues due to lack of transparency," she stated.

She claimed the hospital was neither allowing the family to seek a second opinion by getting the tests done at another laboratory nor providing his blood sample in her presence for independent testing.

Angmo said she had been waiting for over three hours for the hospital to respond to their requests but had received no cooperation.

3. Angmo told the hospital not to provide her husband with any oral or intravenous treatment without the consent of his family and the medical team that had been overseeing his health throughout his 20-day hunger strike.

4. Angmo also questioned the police deployment outside the hospital and objected to restrictions on carrying mobile phones inside, saying the atmosphere made it feel like they were in a "prison".

5. In a post on X, the Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), New Delhi, said Sonam Wangchuk was shifted to Safdarjung Hospital following the Delhi High Court's directions and on the recommendation of doctors after his health deteriorated.

"As per orders of Hon'ble High Court and on expert medical advise due to the deteriorating health condition of Sh. Sonam Wangchuk, he has been shifted to the hospital for essential medical care. While complying with the orders of Hon'ble High Court the protestors tried to create obstruction, in which slight commotion ensued, however police took maximum restrain and undertook the exercise safely," the DCP said.

6. Chief Spokesperson of Cockroach Janta Party CJP Saurav Das called it “COMPLETELY ILLEGAL action” by the Delhi Police, stating that “Nowhere in the High Court’s order does it mention that Sonam ji ought to be forcibly taken away by the Police, wrapped in a white bedsheet like a dead body. It is clear that only if a life threatening condition warrants, based on medical advice, can treatment be given.”

He added, “All of Sonam ji’s vitals were normal until yesterday. No doctor checked up on him at 7 am today when the Police used force to illegally detain him. So based on what “medical advice” is the Police claiming to do what it did? The only answer is that the government is rattled by the success of this movement, the 20 July march, and the outpouring of support for Sonam ji.”

“The Delhi Police must IMMEDIATELY release Sonam ji, allow his family and lawyers to meet him, and reveal whether they arrested Sonam ji and if so, on what legal grounds,” Das further said.

7. Angmo asserted that the planned march to Parliament would proceed as scheduled and that Wangchuk would take part in it.

8. Dr Satish Lamba, who had been overseeing Sonam Wangchuk's health throughout his hunger strike, said he had not been permitted to meet the activist since he was admitted to Safdarjung Hospital, as per PTI.

9. Referring to the CJP protest, Angmo said Wangchuk joined the movement because he believed its demands were legitimate and that it had emerged organically. She described the protest as an example of how Gen Z can organise and demonstrate peacefully.

10. She also claimed the controversy pointed to a deeper institutional crisis. "The NEET exam leak was just a symptom. This system has totally broken. This is not just about paper leaks, it is to awaken the conscience. Citizens have to demand good education," she said, adding that Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan "should have resigned himself".