New Delhi: Uday Bhanu Chib, the national president of the Indian Youth Congress, was arrested on Tuesday in connection with the shirtless protest at the India AI Impact Summit in Delhi’s Bharat Mandapan last week.
Chib was arrested after being questioned by the Delhi Police for over 15 hours at the Tilak Marg police station over the protest during the AI summit. Police alleged that Chib was not cooperating during the interrogation and tried to mislead them.
He was produced before a court later in the day. Seeking Chib’s seven-day custody police said that the youth Congress leader was involved in the protest conspiracy and that they have evidence against him. The police said that they have recovered T-shirts from the accused.
Chib’s lawyer, however, opposed the demand for police custody and said that he always cooperated in the investigation. “Whenever he was called for investigation, he was present… what is the need for arrest, custody is needed only to recover the T-shirt… this is a ridiculous argument,” the lawyer said.
“People from different parts of the country are involved and need to be taken to various locations for investigation, so seven days’ custody is required,” police told the court.
Meanwhile, security has been stepped up around the Tilak Marg police station, where Chib is presently held, and barricades have been put up at the sensitive points, particularly in New Delhi, with anti-riot teams on standby.
More arrests likely
The police said that more arrests are expected in connection with the incidentand that the role of each accused is being examined. “We are analysing CCTV footage, digital evidence and entry records to establish the sequence of events and identify the others involved in planning and executing the protest,” the officer said.
Earlier, police arrested seven people in connection with the protest during the high-profile summit. Chib’s arrest took the total number of people held in the case to eight. Those who were arrested earlier include seven Indian Youth Congress (IYC) workers, including three from Gwalior in Madhya Pradesh, for the protest at the Bharat Mandapam last Friday. They have been identified as Jitendra Yadav, Raj Gujjar and Ajay Kumar. In addition, IYC’s Uttar Pradesh general secretary Ritik alias Monty Shukla has been detained from Lalitpur in the state.
Shirtless protest
On Friday, a group of Indian Youth Congress workers staged a dramatic shirtless protest inside Hall No. 5 of the summit venue. They flashed T-shirts printed with slogans against the government and the India-US interim trade deal. The accused gained entry into the venue by registering online and obtaining QR codes.
The incident sparked a political row, with the BJP calling it a “shameful act to tarnish India’s image on the global stage”, and the IYC defending it as a “peaceful” demonstration aimed at safeguarding national interests.