Shimla/New Delhi, February 25 – In a tense standoff, the Himachal Pradesh Police on Wednesday registered a kidnapping case against Delhi Police personnel and "detained" their vehicles at the Shogi border near Shimla when they were returning to the national capital with three Youth Congress members arrested in connection with the "shirtless protest" at the AI Summit.
"A case has been registered against 15-20 unknown individuals for forcibly taking three people staying in a resort in Rohru. They also took the CCTV installed in the resort and did not provide any receipts," said the Shimla Police in a statement.
The Delhi Police had earlier on Wednesday announced the arrest of three Youth Congress activists in connection with the February 20 protest at the AI Impact Summit from a hotel in the Chirgaon area of Rohru, Himachal Pradesh.
Saurabh, Siddharth, and Arbaz were apprehended by the Special Cell of the Delhi Police. They were produced before a local court, which granted a transit remand to enable police to bring them to Delhi for further questioning, a Delhi Police official said in the national capital.
However, Himachal Pradesh Police sources claimed that they intercepted three vehicles in Shimla and Solan districts and brought them back to Shimla, as the Delhi Police had not obtained a transit remand.
Both the Shimla and Delhi police accused each other of hindering the investigation.
Sources in the Himachal Pradesh Police claimed that the Delhi team conducted the operation in Shimla without informing the local police.
Acting on this, the Himachal Pradesh Police intercepted three vehicles carrying the accused – who are reportedly not residents of Himachal Pradesh – and the Delhi Police personnel.
Two vehicles were stopped in Shimla, while the third was intercepted near Dharampur in Solan district. Around 20 people, including police personnel, were detained, the sources said.
The Delhi Police personnel again tried to leave for Delhi but were intercepted at the Shogi border on Wednesday night on the road to Chandigarh.
In a video that appeared from the Shogi border in the suburbs of Shimla city, the Delhi Police officers were heard saying that they had arrested three people in the morning in connection with an FIR registered on February 20.
"We have to produce the accused arrested at 5 am today in the court in 24 hours, and you have stopped us after registering an FIR at 8 pm," a Delhi Police officer said.
However, the Shimla Police maintained that a case of abduction has been registered, and the Delhi Police is hindering the investigation.
They alleged that the Delhi police conducted an illegal operation at Rohru without informing the local police, and no evidence of arrest was shown.
"I asked you for a legal document in the morning, but neither have you shown any document, nor the FIR number, nor have you obtained the transit remand," the Shimla Police is heard saying.
In a statement issued in Shimla, Leader of Opposition in the Himachal Pradesh Assembly Jai Ram Thakur said, "It is shameful to provide protection in Himachal Pradesh to individuals from outside Himachal Pradesh who have attempted to tarnish the country's image internationally."
Chief Minister Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu is playing politics of anarchy to get in the good books of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, Thakur charged.
The Himachal Pradesh Police should have cooperated with the Delhi Police in the interstate operation, but instead, they tried to detain them, he said.
The "shirtless protest" at Bharat Mandapam on February 20 had triggered a major security response, with police earlier invoking charges including rioting and promoting enmity under relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
Indian Youth Congress (IYC) president Uday Bhanu Chib and former national spokesperson Bhudev Sharma were arrested in connection with the case on Tuesday. Both were produced before a Delhi court and remanded to police custody for interrogation.
According to the Delhi Police, a total of 11 people have been arrested so far.
On Saturday midnight, Delhi Police raided Himachal Sadan in the national capital amid reports that IYC workers who had participated in the protest were provided accommodation there.
Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhu had termed the action "unfortunate and against constitutional procedure".
A Delhi court on Wednesday extended by four days the police custody of five of the arrested accused in the case.
Arguing that the incident was not spontaneous but executed after prior planning, Delhi Police said the initial probe revealed structured allocation of roles, concealment tactics and coordinated post-incident movement.
It, however, said that the entire conspiracy, including its hierarchy, funding and inter-state coordination, needed to be unearthed.
Chief Judicial Magistrate Mridul Gupta extended the custodial interrogation of the accused – Krishna Hari, national secretary of the Youth Congress from Bihar; Kundan Yadav, state general secretary of Bihar; Ajay Kumar Singh, state vice-president of eastern Uttar Pradesh; and Narasimha Yadav, national coordinator of IYC from Telangana.
Meanwhile, Delhi Police on Wednesday denied permission to the Delhi Youth Congress to hold a dharna at Jantar Mantar in the national capital on February 26, citing short notice and prevailing law and order concerns.
The Delhi Youth Congress had called the dharna on Thursday over the police action against the IYC members who took part in the February 20 protest.
