HP: 20 Delhi cops detained in Shimla amid AI shirtless protest

Shimla: Twenty cops of the Delhi police, who earlier in the day on Wednesday arrested three youth Congress leaders suspected of their involvement in the Delhi AI summit shirtless protest, landed up in the custody of the Himachal Pradesh police.

The incident exposes an intriguing, rather bizarre conflict between the police of union capital and that of Congress-ruled hill state

over police investigations in the youth congress demonstration at Bharat Mandapam on February 20.

Some of the youth congress workers, who were part of the protest, had taken shelter in Himachal’s remote village in Shimla district,

but the Delhi police team, which had reached here after getting clues about their stay, had taken the youths in its custody.

However, on their return, there was high drama at Dharampur in Solan district, where the party was intercepted on the charges that it had taken the custody of the youths without informing the Shimla police.

Three Youth Congress workers who were detained were brought back to Shimla and presented in the court along with 20 cops.

The state police described the detention as illegal and released the workers from custody.

Last Friday, several members of the Indian Youth Congress held a shirtless demonstration inside Hall No 5 at the AI Impact Summit in New Delhi. After taking off their shirts to display T-shirts bearing slogans criticising the government and the India–US interim trade agreement, they were escorted out by security staff.

However, the top officials of the Union Home Ministry intervened later in the day and resolved the issue.