New Delhi, February 24 The Delhi Police have arrested Uday Bhanu Chib, the president of the Indian Youth Congress, in connection with the protest staged by a group of IYC members at the AI Impact Summit here last week, officials said on Tuesday.
With this, the total number of arrests in the case has risen to eight.
The police had earlier arrested seven members of the Indian Youth Congress (IYC), including three from Gwalior in Madhya Pradesh, for the protest held at Bharat Mandapam last Friday.
They have been identified as Jitendra Yadav, Raj Gujjar, and Ajay Kumar.
In addition, Ritik alias Monty Shukla, the general secretary of IYC's Uttar Pradesh unit, has been detained from Lalitpur in the state.
According to the police, additional sections under the BNS, including 196 (promoting enmity between different groups and acts prejudicial to the maintenance of harmony) and 197 (assertions prejudicial to national integration), have been invoked in the FIR, which carry a jail term of up to three years.
Charges of criminal conspiracy, obstruction of a public servant in the discharge of duty, disobedience to an order duly promulgated by a public servant, unlawful assembly, and common intention have already been added to the FIR.
On Friday, a group of IYC members staged a protest inside Hall No. 5 of the summit venue by removing their shirts to reveal T-shirts printed with slogans against the government and the India-US interim trade deal, before being taken away by security personnel.
The police said that the accused had registered online to obtain QR codes to access the venue.
Investigators are also probing an alleged conspiracy angle and the financial trail behind the protest, including funding for printing the slogans on the T-shirts.
The incident triggered a political slugfest with the BJP calling it a "shameful act to tarnish India's image on the global stage", and the IYC defending it as a "peaceful" demonstration aimed at safeguarding national interests.
