Delhi-Shimla Police Standoff Ends After 24 Hours: Youth Congress Activists Head to Delhi

A standoff between Delhi and Himachal Pradesh police teams ended on Thursday morning after a 24-hour impasse, allowing the Delhi Police to return to the national capital with three Youth Congress activists arrested over the shirtless protest at the AI Impact Summit.

According to PTI, the Delhi Police team had been detained for about five hours even after securing transit remand from the ACJM during the stalemate. On Wednesday evening, the Himachal Pradesh Police registered a kidnapping case against the Delhi Police personnel and detained their vehicles at the Shoghi border near Shimla while they were en route to the national capital with the three Youth Congress members in custody.

The three accused, along with members of the Delhi Police, were taken to the residence of Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate (ACJM II) Ekansh Kapil at 1.30 am after medical examinations at the Deendyal Upadhyay Zonal Hospital in Shimla late on Wednesday night. They were granted the transit remand and resumed their journey.

Early on Thursday morning, however, the Delhi Police team was detained again at Kanlog in Shimla city. They were instructed to return to the national capital with the accused and a few additional police personnel, while the remaining members were asked to stay behind and cooperate with the investigation into the kidnapping case against them.

The Shimla police also asked the Delhi team to hand over a copy of the digital evidence they possessed, which had allegedly been gathered during the arrest of the activists in Rohru. The Delhi Police insisted that the safety of the three accused was their responsibility and that they would not leave any of their members behind. They later continued their movement towards Shoghi.

At the Shoghi border, the Delhi team was detained yet again by the Shimla police at 4 am. The Shimla police barricaded a vehicle belonging to the Delhi Police, which contained CCTV footage and other evidence. The Delhi Police stated that this vehicle holds digital evidence, accompanying documents, and arms. During the standoff, the Shimla police sought the keys to the barricaded vehicle, but the Delhi Police refused to hand them over.

A personnel from the Delhi team informed the Shimla police that a seizure memo had been provided, and the relevant documents had been shown to the ACJM, based on which they were granted the transit remand. The Delhi police stated that they received 18 hours of transit remand, of which five hours had already elapsed. PTI reported that the impasse ended when the Delhi police shared a copy of the seizure memo with the Shimla police. Although they did not share the digital evidence, the memo listed the evidence in their possession related to the case.

Delhi Police ACP Rahul Vikram later told the media that the Shimla police could not legally seize the digital evidence or their vehicle. He added that the Shimla police would need to submit a written request if they wanted access to the evidence. Following the departure of the Delhi team, the Shimla police dispersed from the Shoghi border. The Delhi police are now set to produce the accused before a local magistrate in the national capital to seek remand.

On Wednesday, advocate for the accused, Sandeep Dutta, told the media that the arrest was illegal because the proper procedures were not followed. He opposed the transit remand on the grounds of illegal detention and the lack of proper documentation. Advocate Nand Lal, representing the Delhi Police, stated that the transit remand application was presented and approved.

The conflict began on Wednesday morning when members of the Delhi Police arrested the three Youth Congress activists, linked to the February 20 protest at the AI Impact Summit, from a hotel in the Chirgaon area of Rohru subdivision in Shimla district. They were intercepted by local police and brought back to Shimla. Three police vehicles ferrying the accused -- Saurabh, Siddharth and Arbaz -- who are allegedly not residents of the state, were intercepted in Shimla and Solan district and subsequently produced before a local court.

On Wednesday evening, when the Delhi Police attempted once more to transport the accused to New Delhi, they were stopped again at the Shoghi border, approximately 15 km from Shimla. This situation created inconvenience for commuters due to the standoff between the two police teams.

"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," the Shimla police said in a statement.

While the Delhi Police asserted that they had obtained the necessary transit remand, the Himachal Police claimed that no documentation was presented and deemed the operation illegal, alleging a procedural lapse in not notifying the local police before making an arrest. Both the Shimla and Delhi police accused one another of obstructing the investigation.

In a purported video that appeared from the Shoghi 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 could be heard saying.

However, Shimla Police maintained that a case of abduction had been filed, alleging that the Delhi Police was hampering their investigation. "I asked you for legal documentation in the morning, but you neither showed any document nor provided the FIR number," a Shimla Police officer could be heard replying.

Reported PTI, 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." Thakur accused Chief Minister Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu of engaging in 'politics of anarchy' to win favour with Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, claiming the Himachal Pradesh Police should have cooperated with the Delhi Police in this interstate operation, but instead attempted to detain them.

The shirtless protest at Bharat Mandapam on February 20 prompted a significant security response, with police earlier invoking charges including rioting and promoting enmity under relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). The 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 subsequently 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 termed the action "unfortunate and against constitutional procedure."

(With inputs from PTI)