Shimla/New Delhi: The dramatic standoff between Delhi Police and Himachal Pradesh Police over the arrest of three Indian Youth Congress (IYC) workers for the shirtless protest at the AI Summit in Delhi dragged on till the early hours of Thursday.The Delhi-Haryana police team was stopped thrice by Shimla police — the last time at 4am on Thursday after they had got an 18-hour transit remand from the additional chief judicial magistrate (ACJM) in Shimla. It was only around 6am, 24 hours after the arrests, that the Delhi and Haryana cops could leave for the national capital with the three accused — Saurabh Singh, Siddharth Avdhoot and Arbaaz Khan.
The Delhi-Haryana police team had picked up the trio from a resort in Chirgaon, 120km from Shimla, around 6am on Wednesday. The resort owner filed a complaint with Shimla Police that 15-20 men in plain clothes forcibly took away three guests and seized electronic equipment, including a CCTV digital video recorder (DVR).Shimla Police, in coordination with Solan Police, intercepted the vehicles at multiple locations, including Shoghi, ISBT Shimla and Dharampur in Solan. The Delhi and Haryana cops told Shimla Police the trio was arrested in connection with an FIR registered in Delhi on Feb 20.A jurisdictional confrontation ensued. Shimla Police detained the Delhi and Haryana cops over procedural concerns, alleging they were not informed about the operation. According to Himachal officials, the visiting police team did not hand over seizure memo of the items taken from the resort.The Delhi and Haryana cops set off yet again. In the evening, Chirgaon Police registered an FIR for abduction following a complaint from the resort owner. The visiting cops were again stopped again at Shoghi barrier, 15km from Shimla, late in the evening. Amid heated arguments, they were told about the abduction FIR and asked to join the investigation.To ensure compliance with legal procedures and safeguard the rights of the detainees, Shimla Police produced the three accused before a local court and they also underwent medical examination at Deen Dayal Upadhyay (Ripon) Hospital in Shimla later that night. Close to midnight, they were presented at the residence of the Shimla ACJM, who granted transit remand to Delhi Police.At 4am, they were stopped yet again at Shoghi barrier. It was not until 6am that they could finally leave for Delhi.The police standoff triggered a political faceoff. A BJP delegation led by leader of the opposition and former CM Jairam Thakur met governor Shiv Pratap Shukla on Thursday and submitted a memorandum, alleging interference in Delhi Police’s lawful action and “political misuse of the police machinery” by Congress govt. BJP demanded a high-level investigation by central govt into the CM’s office and action against guilty officials.Himachal CM’s media advisor Naresh Chauhan termed the allegations against state govt “baseless and wrong”, and criticised Thakur for “defending Delhi Police instead of supporting state police”. “The state is not shielding protesters,” he said.Meanwhile, a Delhi court on Thursday sent the three accused to three-day police custody. Delhi Police produced the IYC workers before the court after bringing them from Himachal. Seeking five days’ custody, the prosecution said custodial interrogation was required to ascertain the origin of the conspiracy, establish the chain of command, confirm the mode and method of payment, and confront them with co-accused. The prosecution said Siddharth designed and circulated the content printed on the protest T-shirts, while Saurav created a WhatsApp group to mobilise participants, and he and Arbaaz were present inside the venue during the agitation. It further alleged that the three were “hiding in resorts in Himachal Pradesh”. Despite repeated warnings and knowledge of their colleague’s arrests, they continued to conceal themselves, reflecting their “apparent respect for the law”, as per public prosecutor Atul Srivastav.The defence said the case was limited to the protest that day, terming the action “witch hunting”. It argued that the accused were neither seen in CCTV footage nor involved in any hateful speech, and that no police personnel was harmed, adding the case was built on rhetoric rather than evidence. It also flagged the mechanical use of the phrase “tukde-tukde” in the FIR, questioning whether “investigative agencies were now resorting to recycled narratives instead of credible material evidence”.Chief judicial magistrate Mridul Gupta observed that while the right to protest under Article 19 is a fundamental right, it is “subject to reasonable restrictions” including sovereignty and integrity of the country, security of the state, friendly relations with foreign states, public order or decency, and must be exercised responsibly. He noted the allegations were serious, involving a “pre-meditated intrusion into Bharat Mandapam”, along with claims of coordinated movements, breach of security, obstruction of public servants, and physical assault. He recorded there was a specific averment the accused deliberately fled to a remote location in Himachal and were apprehended from a Shimla resort, and that “none of the accused are stated to be residents of the place from which they were apprehended.” Considering the nature of the offences, attributed roles in the conspiracy and their alleged evasion, he held that justifiable grounds of arrest were disclosed.
