Shimla, February 26 A day after the Himachal Pradesh Police detained a Delhi Police team near Shimla and booked them for "kidnapping", the BJP in the hill state on Thursday demanded a thorough investigation into the incident by the Centre and an independent investigation into the role of the chief minister's office.
The incident was triggered by the arrest of three Indian Youth Congress (IYC) workers by a Delhi Police team from a hotel in Rohru near the Himachal capital, for their alleged involvement in the shirtless protest by a group of youth wing members at the AI Impact Summit in Delhi on February 20.
The arrests sparked a high-voltage standoff between the two police forces, which ended after a dramatic 24 hours on Thursday morning, when the team from Delhi was finally cleared to head back to the capital along with the three accused.
In the stalemate, the Delhi Police team was "detained" for about five hours even after procuring a transit remand from the ACJM concerned in Shimla.
On Thursday, BJP MLAs and senior party leaders, led by Leader of Opposition Jai Ram Thakur, submitted a memorandum to Governor Shiv Pratap Shukla, alleging a serious constitutional crisis in the state and misuse of police machinery, besides seeking the strictest action against the "culprits".
The three-page memorandum also sought to bring to the governor's attention the use of the chief minister's office (CMO) as a "political base" for providing government protection to the accused, and using the state police to "serve political interests".
On Wednesday, Himachal Pradesh Police detained the 20-member police team from Delhi, which was returning to the national capital after arresting the three accused, and registered a case of abduction, concealment of property, wrongful confinement, and unlawful assembly under the BNS against 12-15 Delhi Police officers at the Chirgaon police station in Shimla district.
Talking to mediapersons after submitting the memo to the governor, Thakur accused the Congress government in Himachal of acting at the behest of Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra.
The AI Impact Summit significantly elevated India's global stature, with participation from leaders from more than 20 countries, yet the Youth Congress attempted to tarnish the nation's image through their "indecent" protest at the event, Thakur alleged.
An FIR had been registered in Delhi after the "semi-nude" protest, and some Youth Congress leaders involved in the incident were given shelter at the Himachal Sadan in the national capital, the BJP leader alleged.
He also claimed that Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu publicly acknowledged that room bookings were made through his office.
Acting on intel that some of the accused had taken refuge in Himachal, Delhi Police on Wednesday morning arrested three Youth Congress workers – Saurabh Singh and Arbaz from Uttar Pradesh and Siddharth from Madhya Pradesh – from a hotel at Chirgaon in Rohru, Thakur said.
“The team from Delhi was stopped despite having valid legal documents, seizure reports, and court orders. They were even detained for about five hours, even after a magistrate granted them transit remand,” he said.
Thakur claimed the state police action was aimed at preventing the seizure and examination of CCTV footage, digital evidence and related documents, and the digital video recorder (at the hotel) could expose the entire conspiracy behind who met the accused, facilitated their stay, and supported them.
“The incident amounts to placing police forces from two states in a confrontation mode, which is a direct blow to the spirit of cooperative federalism," Thakur said.
"If the state police acted under political instructions, it amounted to the violation of constitutional norms and the oath of office," he added.
The memorandum also claimed increasing mafia activities in the state and attacks on administrative officials.
On Thursday afternoon, a Delhi court sent the three accused to three-day police custody, even as Delhi Police sought five-day custodial interrogation of the trio.