A confrontation took place between police personnel from Delhi and Himachal Pradesh on the Chandigarh-Shimla highway on Thursday in connection with the arrests of three Indian Youth Congress members for a protest at the India AI Impact Summit, The Indian Express reported.
The two police forces accused each other of obstructing their investigations.
The police in Congress-governed Himachal Pradesh filed a first information report against several Delhi Police personnel, accusing them of kidnapping the members of the ruling party’s youth wing, according to the newspaper.
The Delhi Police team was stopped several times while taking the three arrested persons to the national capital, The Indian Express reported.
Members of the Indian Youth Congress had held a protest during the artificial intelligence summit in Delhi on February 20, shouting slogans against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and holding placards alleging that he was “compromised”.
The Delhi Police, which reports to the Union home ministry, has filed a case against the protesters, accusing them of rioting and promoting enmity between groups.
On Wednesday evening, the Delhi Police arrested three Indian Youth Congress members – Saurabh, Siddharth and Arbaz – from a hotel in the Chirgaon area of the Shimla district, PTI reported. The Delhi Police sought to produce them before a local court for transit remand, but officials from Himachal Pradesh allegedly prevented them from doing so.
“At the court, our team was informed that court staff were not available for the legal process,” The Indian Express quoted an unidentified Delhi Police officer as saying. “The local [Himachal] police kept the Delhi Police officers confined for hours. They were asked to show a copy of the FIR [against the accused] and permission from a court to carry out the operation.”
The Delhi Police team was reportedly allowed to leave in the evening, but was again stopped at the Shoghi police post on the Chandigarh-Shimla highway. An unidentified member of the Delhi Police team was quoted as saying by The Indian Express that they were told that they had been booked on kidnapping charges, and were detained.
While the Delhi Police claimed that they had obtained transit remand, their counterparts from Himachal Pradesh claimed that no documentation was presented and the arrests were illegal. The authorities in Himachal Pradesh alleged that the procedure was not followed as the local police had not been informed before making the arrests.
Videos posted on social media showed the police personnel arguing and filming each other during the confrontation.
The Shimla Police was quoted as saying by PTI: “A case has been registered against 15-20 unknown people in plain clothes for forcibly taking three people staying in a resort in Rohru. They also took the CCTV installed in the resort with them and did not give any receipt.”
Naresh Chauhan, the principal advisor (media) to Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, said that a procedure must be followed when the police from one state travel to another state to arrest a person,” PTI reported.
“This order has been given to the Delhi Police by the High Court,” the news agency quoted him as saying. “Despite this, the Delhi Police did not inform Himachal Police and continued with their action. Shimla Police opposed it because the action being taken was illegal and unwarranted.”
Chauhan said that the matter eventually went to court after the Himachal Pradesh Police’s intervention. “…The accused have been taken into remand and they are finally undergoing medical,” he said, according to PTI.
Allegations against Youth Congress workers
The Delhi Police has alleged that the Youth Congress’ protest was part of a “larger conspiracy” and has claimed it was inspired by Nepal’s recent Gen-Z-led agitation. According to the Delhi Police, the demonstration was a pre-planned attempt to disrupt the high-profile event at Bharat Mandapam.
The five-day India AI Impact Summit was promoted as a major gathering on artificial intelligence in the Global South, attended by 20 world leaders, technology executives and exhibitors from 30 countries.
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