Following a strategy finalised at a high-level meeting after Anurag Kumar assumed charge as Delhi's new Police Commissioner, police launched an early morning operation on Saturday to remove climate activist Sonam Wangchuk from the Jantar Mantar protest site and shift him to a hospital.
Senior officers decided to carry out the operation at daybreak when the number of protesters was at its lowest, sources told ANI.
Police also identified a brief window when Wangchuk's close aide, Abhijit Dipke, had stepped away from the protest site, leaving the stage without its primary coordinator.
Around 30-35 personnel from the New Delhi district's Special Staff and local police, dressed in plain clothes, quietly entered the barricaded protest area.
Sources said the operation was conducted on a strict need-to-know basis. The complete strategy was known only to a handful of senior officers. Inspectors and most personnel deployed on the ground were only instructed to report to the protest site and remain in position, without being briefed about the full operational plan in advance.
Police personnel then surrounded Wangchuk's bed and covered it with large white sheets from all four sides before escorting him away from the stage to avoid crowd mobilisation and minimise commotion, the sources said.
"They came early in the morning in civil dress. When we asked who they were, they first said they were doctors. Later, they told us they had a High Court order to shift Sonam Wangchuk to the hospital. We requested them to wait until his vital checks were completed but they entered and took him away," a protester told PTI.
"We were asking them to let his medical team examine him first. Nobody was informed beforehand. Everything happened in a rush," he claimed.
The protester alleged that several people sustained injuries in the scuffle.
"There was a lot of pushing. Many protesters got injured while trying to stop the police. I also received scratches during the scuffle," he said.
The operation was executed in three layers. Plainclothes officers first secured the stage and removed Wangchuk. In the second layer, CRPF and Rapid Action Force (RAF) personnel held back protesters outside the barricaded area to prevent any confrontation. In the third layer, senior Delhi Police officers monitored the entire operation from a control point near the ambulance and police vehicles.
Once Wangchuk was placed inside the ambulance, traffic police ensured a clear route, allowing the vehicle to proceed without interruption to Safdarjung Hospital.
Shortly after the operation concluded, Abhijit Dipke returned to the protest site and alleged that Wangchuk had been removed in his absence. He also announced that he would continue the protest by observing a hunger strike.
Delhi Police, however, maintained that the exercise was carried out peacefully with maximum restraint and appealed to the protesters at Jantar Mantar to vacate the site peacefully at the earliest.
According to the DCP, New Delhi, "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. We request the protestors at Jantar Mantar to peacefully vacate the place at the earliest."
Even after Wangchuk was shifted to the hospital, the protest site remained active, with demonstrators raising slogans, singing protest songs and beating tambourines in support of the agitation.
As Dipke began his indefinite hunger strike at the site, protesters said the movement would continue until their demands for action against paper leaks were addressed.
Delhi Police's first major action under new commissioner
Within 24 hours of taking charge as the Delhi Police commissioner, Anurag Kumar oversaw the force's first major action with activist Sonam Wangchuk being shifted to Safdarjung Hospital after his health deteriorated during his 21-day indefinite hunger strike.
The operation at Jantar Mantar on Saturday marked the first significant move under Kumar, a 1994-batch AGMUT cadre IPS officer who assumed charge of the force on Friday.
While the Delhi Police said Wangchuk was hospitalised for essential medical care on the advice of medical experts, police sources said the move could be seen as the first major operational decision under Kumar, who took charge as Delhi's police chief just a day earlier.
A senior police source said Kumar has conveyed to officers that maintaining law and order would remain his foremost priority.
"The commissioner has directed all district and unit heads to ensure there is no breach of law and order anywhere in the city," the source said.
Kumar, a former special director in the Intelligence Bureau, has nearly two decades of experience in the agency, where he handled key assignments related to Kashmir, VIP security and Left Wing Extremism.
He also served at the Indian mission in Washington and has been awarded the Police Medal for Meritorious Service and the President's Police Medal for Distinguished Service.
He succeeded Satish Golcha, who had headed Delhi Police since August 2025. Following the appointment, Golcha has been directed to report to the lieutenant governor for his next posting after handing over the charge.
(With inputs from PTI, ANI)