CHANDIGARH: A high-voltage standoff between the Himachal Pradesh Police and Delhi Police came to an end on Friday morning after 24 hours, with the police team from the national capital finally cleared to head back along with three Youth Congress leaders arrested in connection with the “shirtless protest” at the AI Summit.
Sources said the Delhi Police team left from the Shoghi barrier in the morning with all vehicles and the three accused, who had been sent on transit remand by a court in Shimla. “All the detained vehicles, along with the Delhi Police, were allowed to leave for the national capital with the three accused and seized material,” said a senior police official.
Sources added that after medical examinations at Deendyal Upadhyay Zonal Hospital late on Thursday night, the three accused and Delhi Police personnel were taken to the residence of Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate (ACJM II) Ekansh Kapil at around 1.30 am. The court granted transit remand, clearing their movement to the national capital.
However, on Friday morning, the Delhi Police were again stopped at Kanlog in Shimla and told to return to the national capital with the accused and a few additional police personnel, while the remaining members were asked to stay back and cooperate with the investigation into the kidnapping case registered against them. They were subsequently stopped again at the Shoghi border.
The Himachal Pradesh Police stopped a Delhi Police vehicle carrying CCTV footage and other evidence and reportedly sought the keys to the vehicle, but the Delhi Police refused to hand them over. The standoff ended only after the Delhi Police shared a seizure memo listing the evidence they had collected, without handing over the digital material itself, sources said.
The three accused — Saurabh Singh and Arbaaz Khan, who hail from Uttar Pradesh, and Siddharth Avdhoot from Madhya Pradesh — were arrested by the Delhi Police from the Rohru area of Shimla district.
The standoff has spilled into a political controversy in the hill state, with the Bharatiya Janata Party seeking the intervention of Himachal Pradesh Governor Shiv Pratap Shukla and demanding a high-level independent investigation by a central agency into the face-off and the alleged role of the Chief Minister’s Office.
Leader of Opposition and former chief minister Jai Ram Thakur, along with other party leaders, submitted a memorandum to the Governor in this regard. He said this was the first-ever such incident in the hill state where all norms were flouted with impunity to provide political protection to people wanted by the police. Thakur added he was shocked that in a federal structure, some police officers were flouting norms and taking orders from the government. “It was shocking that even after obtaining transit remand, the Delhi Police were yet again stopped, crossing all limits,” said Thakur.
“It is shameful to provide protection in Himachal Pradesh to individuals from outside the state who have attempted to tarnish the image of the country internationally. We have urged the governor to hold an inquiry by a central agency and take action against politicians and police officers who tried to provide protection to people wanted in police cases for defaming the nation,” he said, adding that the state police should have cooperated with the Delhi Police.
Himachal Pradesh Congress president Vinay Kumar said, “It seems as if an undeclared emergency has been imposed in the country, where no one is free to speak against the government and no one is permitted to stage a peaceful protest.”
He accused the Centre of completely banning freedom of expression.
Meanwhile, the Delhi Police reached the national capital with the three Youth Congress workers.
The action came amid an ongoing crackdown in the case filed after a group of Indian Youth Congress workers entered Bharat Mandapam and waved their shirts while raising slogans.
A Delhi court sent the three to police custody for three days. So far, 11 people have been arrested in connection with the protest. The president of the organisation, Uday Bhanu Chib, has also been arrested by the police.
