What began as a miniscule demonstration at Jantar Mantar by the Cockroach party supporters earlier descended into chaos last evening (20 July 2026), as the protesters clashed with Delhi Police in some of the worst street violence the capital has witnessed in recent years.
The march, organized in solidarity with activist Sonam Wangchuk’s hunger strike and the student-led Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), ended with damaged vehicles and dozens of injuries as mobs attacked police positions along the Parliament Street corridor. The clashes left more than 170 people injured. This included at least 60 to 118 police personnel who sustained injuries including senior officers and women constables primarily due to heavy stone-pelting by sections of the crowd.
Amid the escalating violence, activist Sonam Wangchuk, who was on the 23rd day of his hunger strike, remained confined under security at Safdarjung Hospital, having been forcibly moved there from Jantar Mantar on 18 July 2026 as per court orders. According to hospital medical bulletins and court submissions, his condition remained hemodynamically stable, and he was fully conscious, though severely weak and experiencing metabolic abnormalities due to his continued refusal of intravenous fluids and medications.
Amid all this, a 2007 letter from the then UPA administration has resurfaced on social media. That letter now sounds like a warning of what happened at Jantar Mantar yesterday.
That notice, issued by the Office of the Deputy Commissioner, Leh, on 28 February 2007, named Sonam Wangchuk as a man who posed “significant threat to the administration and peace of the region.”
The 2007 Notice
The notice says, “Shri Sonam Wangchuk, Director, SECMOL, Leh, In the recent past there has been following serious allegations against you and your NGO.
1. You have been demoralising Government staff, by-passing administrative offices like Zonal Education Office etc., using undignified language and remarks, showering baseless allegations against department and its functionaries.
2. You have been illegally occupying 200 Kanals of land without paying dues to the Government.
3. You have been misusing provisions of Foreign Contribution Act by misappropriation of funds received from Foreign Contributions.
4. You have been anti national connections in china and other places, which have been or may be exploited for anti national activities.
5. You have been threatening Council and District Administration from time to time with adverse remarks and with threat of dire consequences there by destabilizing the harmony of the place.
All these allegations are very serious and hold significant threat to the administration and peace of the region.
A Notice is hereby served against you for initiating action in all these matters against your NGO and in particular you in personal capacity so as to take preventive safety measure to prevent any disturbance in the region.”
Every single allegation in that letter has now manifested on the streets of Delhi. It did manifest in 2025 when he went on a hunger strike demanding statehood for Ladakh, Sixth Schedule protection, and separate Lok Sabha seats for Leh and Kargil. That protest became violent as members of the Leh Apex Body (LAB) youth wing clashed outside the BJP office.
According to police, agitators pelted stones and set fire to the BJP office and a nearby CRPF vehicle. Tear gas and baton charges were deployed to control the situation.
In the aftermath of the 2026 Delhi violence, the 2007 notice has once again come under the spotlight. The warnings issued by the Leh administration nearly two decades ago have gained renewed relevance following the clashes involving supporters of Sonam Wangchuk. This only goes to prove that Sonam Wangchuk claims to start off with a ‘peaceful’ hunger strike only to have it end in violence.
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