The Delhi Police on Friday arrested four Indian Youth Congress (IYC) workers for staging a protest at the India AI Impact Summit venue in New Delhi, reported PTI.
An FIR has been registered at Tilak Marg police station invoking serious provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), including criminal conspiracy, hurt to a public servant, assault on and obstruction of a public servant in discharge of duty, disobedience to an order duly promulgated by a public servant, unlawful assembly, and common intention.
The police action came after a group of protesters marched into Exhibition Hall No. 5, wearing or holding white T-shirts printed with images of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump, along with slogans such as "India-US Trade Deal," "Epstein Files," and "PM is compromised," which soon resulted in a commotion.
The police said they are probing an alleged "wider conspiracy angle" in connection with the protests.
"The four arrested accused will be produced before the Patiala House Court. Several serious sections have been invoked in the FIR," ACP (New Delhi), Devesh Mahla was quoted as saying by PTI.
The police initially detained around 10 IYC workers and later registered the arrest of four leaders: Krishna Hari, national secretary of the Indian Youth Congress (IYC) from Bihar; Kundan Yadav, IYC state secretary in Bihar; Ajay Kumar, head of IYC's Uttar Pradesh unit; and Narasimha Yadav from Telangana.
Delhi Police is also questioning IYC President Uday Bhanu Chib at the Parliament Street police station, and a hunt is on to arrest the remaining agitators, a senior police officer said.
Raids are being conducted to trace and apprehend the remaining protesters, officials said, adding that police are scanning more than 15 video clips and footage to identify them.
Justifying the protest, the IYC in a post on X said the question being asked was "why exactly did young Congress workers need to raise their voices against the compromised PM inside the AI Summit?"
"In a country where the media, the system, and the prime minister himself have already been compromised, what platform remains to raise a voice against it? If we protest on the streets, we are stopped. Under the guise of IT Rules, social media posts against the government are taken down. The media has become the government's mouthpiece. So, what avenue remains open to us?" the Youth Congress asked.
"We are not against the AI Summit. We are against the compromises being made with India's interests. When the country's farmers are being bargained away, anti-India trade agreements are being signed, and the youth are kept unemployed while being dragged into politics of hate, should we stay silent?" it asked.
However, the BJP slammed the protests, alleging that a "ruckus" was created at the venue to sabotage India's global image under the direction of opposition leader Rahul Gandhi.
(With inputs from PTI)