By Tenzin Sangmo
New Delhi, August 13 – Tibetan Youth Congress replaced the six men on hunger strike with volunteers late in the evening yesterday causing much confusion among Indian police who took the healthy men to the hospital instead. It was said to have begun in the afternoon after a routine check by a doctor who announced Phuntsok Tenzin very critical. Medical treatment was declined by the TYC which led the Indian Government to deploy around 400 police officials and authorities in plain clothes around 21:15 last night.
Before the police could get to the makeshift tent housing the six frail men, TYC replaced them with volunteers who pretended to be the second batch. The actual six men stood near the beds and even walked around to avoid suspicion.
The authorities mistaking the six men for the hunger strikers carried them to the hospital and put them under medical care. The second batch was taken to an undisclosed location where they spent the night and was brought back to Jantar Mantar early this morning.
Sonam Samdup, one of the hunger strikers from the second batch was detained by police in the confusion and left outside the hospital after mistaking him for a volunteer. He was later taken away by TYC.
According to President Tsewang Rigzin, ” Police came all of a sudden to detain the hunger strikers and take them to hospital. We replaced them with six other men who are now undergoing medical treatment. The hunger strikers were removed and relocated last night. They were brought back to the site this morning.”
The Indian police, now aware of the incident is said to descend on them again tonight, the eight day of the indefinite fast without food and water.
