AI Summit Protest: Himachal Police Detain 20 Delhi Police Cops In Shimla Over “Illegal” Arrests

In a surprise development, Himachal Pradesh police detained 20 Delhi cops, who earlier in the day had arrested some Youth Congress leaders, reportedly hiding at Rohru, in Shimla district, over their alleged role in the shirtless protest at the Delhi AI Summit on February 20 at Bharat Mandapam.

The development was a fallout of the shirtless protest, over alleged linkages with Youth Congress leaders in Congress-ruled Himachal Pradesh.

A senior police official confirmed that the cops, who were heading from Delhi after arresting three Youth Congress leaders without informing Shimla police or taking its consent, were stopped on the Shimla-Chandigarh Highway near Dharampur in Solan district on Wednesday.

Reports said three vehicles of the Delhi Police, in which they had arrived, were also intercepted and taken into possession.

“The police personnel and the leaders were then brought back to Shimla and presented in court at Chakkar," said officials without giving many details.

The arrested youth Congress workers were staying at a rest house at Mendli, near Rohru. They belonged to UP and Bihar, mainly. None of them are from Himachal Pradesh.

Meanwhile, the Superintendent of Police, Solan, Tirumalaraju SD Varma, later, went on record to state that teams of Solan police were deployed on the NH following information about unauthorised arrests of the youth.

“We had set up nakas near Dharampur at the Shimla police’s request. When the vehicle reached the Nakka point, the police acted promptly, detained the Delhi Police personnel, and sent them back to Shimla for further action.

Meanwhile, Congress MLA from Theog Kuldeep Rathore, who is also an AICC spokesperson, expressed surprise at how the Delhi Police could arrest anyone from the state without taking the Himachal Pradesh police into confidence or even informing them about the arrests.

“The incident that comes close on the heels of the Delhi Police raid at Himachal Sadan, Chanakyapuri, two days back, is a shocking violation of privacy. Himachal Chief Minister Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu was also staying at Himachal Sadan, and it was known later that Delhi Police had come in search of some youth Congress leaders involved in the AI Summit protest."

“Raiding premises without a warrant is a clear violation of privacy,” Rathore said in a press statement.

He urged the state government to take legal action against the Delhi Police.

Rathore also lashed out at the central government over the arrests, asserting that governments come and go, but the opposition’s duty is to raise the people’s voice. That is the spirit of democracy, but the BJP government, unfortunately, was trying to suppress youth voices by making a huge issue out of the Youth Congress’s shirtless protest during the AI summit in New Delhi.

Rathore, also a former PCC chief, said Youth Congress workers had staged a peaceful protest against the US–India trade deal, citing its adverse impact on farmers and young people. “There has been widespread discontent among the youth over the central government's anti-people policies, limited employment opportunities, and ongoing job cuts.

Earlier on Tuesday, Chief Minister Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu, on arrival from Delhi, condemned the police raid at Himachal Sadan during his stay and wondered why the Delhi Police did not even inform the Resident Commissioner before entering the government property.