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Kidnapping case, ‘detention’: What led to dramatic Delhi-Shimla Police standoff over IYC workers' arrest
Delhi Police's arrest of 3 Youth Congress workers sparked a legal battle with Shimla cops, who charged them of “kidnapping” due to not following due procedure.
A 24-hour dramatic standoff between Delhi and Shimla Police personnel ended after the former finally headed back to the national capital along with the three Youth Congress workers arrested in connection with the "shirtless protest" at the AI Summit last week.
At the AI Impact Summit exhibition hall last Friday, the now-arrested IYC workers walked around holding T-shirts with slogans against the government and the India-US trade deal printed on them, before being whisked away by the security personnel.
What led to the Delhi-Shimla Police standoff
It all stemmed from the arrest of three accused - Saurabh Singh and Arbaaz Khan hailing from Uttar Pradesh, and Siddharth Avdhoot from Madhya Pradesh - by Delhi Police from the Rohru area of Himachal Pradesh's Shimla district.
What ensued after the arrest was a dramatic chain of events that included a kidnapping case by the Shimla Police against the Delhi Police personnel - about 20 in number - who were enroute to the national capital with the three Youth Congress members in custody as well as alleged “detention” of Delhi cops for about five hours.
The day-long drama ended in the early hours of Thursday - at about 5:55 am left - when Delhi police finally left for the city with the three accused arrested by them from Rohru after prolonged legal proceedings and a transit remand that was granted at 1 am.
According to details cited in an earlier HT report, the Delhi Police arrested the three youths from Rohru at around 5:30 am on Wednesday and brought them towards Shimla. However, acting on information, Himachal Pradesh Police intercepted the Delhi Police team at Dharampur in Solan district and detained them along with the accused. The Shimla Police allegedly seized Delhi Police vehicle.
The accused were later taken to Shimla for legal proceedings. During the day, a private complaint was also filed by the SHO (station house officer) of Baluganj police station, before the court alleging procedural lapses.
State authorities intercepted three vehicles of the Special Cell of Delhi Police in Shoghi and Dharampur (in Solan district) for failing to follow mandatory inter-state arrest protocols, including the procurement of transit remands. Both the detained Delhi officers and the IYC workers were subsequently produced in a court in Shimla as the legal tug of war intensified, people in the know of the matter told HT.
In a statement, issued late on Wednesday night, Shimla police said a case has been registered under BNS sections 190 (unlawful assembly), 329(4) (house trespass), 127(2) (wrongful confinement), 140(3) kidnapping, 305 (theft in house)against the Delhi police personnel at the Chirgaon police station in Rohru. “This morning, the Shimla police received information that around 15 to 20 persons, dressed in plain clothes, arrived in vehicles and forcibly took away three individuals/guests who were staying at a resort in Chirgaon,” said the statement.
“The Himachal Police were neither informed nor taken into confidence before the arrests were carried out,” said a senior HP police official, who did want to be named.
Late-night court proceeding
In the evening, when the Delhi Police again attempted to take the accused towards Delhi, the team was stopped at a barrier on the outskirts of Shimla, leading to heated arguments between the two police forces. The accused and the Delhi Police personnel were kept detained for several hours before being produced before a magistrate. An FIR was also registered by Shimla police.
The case Himachal Pradesh Police registered against the Delhi Police personnel included charge of kidnapping among others.
The three accused Saurav, Arbaaz and Siddharth were produced at around 1 am were produced before the ACJM-II Ekansh Kapil, where the Delhi Police’s plea for transit remand was heard and allowed, the earlier HT report mentioned.
A Delhi Police personnel, requesting anonymity, told HT that there was an argument at the spot and questions were raised on how Shimla Police was trying to seize our vehicle under the law. After that, Shimla Police, which had detained all our vehicles, finally released them… We were kept in detention for quite some time.”
The Delhi Police ACP Rahul Vikram, said, “We have given them the memo, which is the seizure memo. This is our government vehicle in which case property was kept, so it could not have been seized. Finally, we are all leaving now. We were kept in detention for so long.”
The Delhi Police team is now proceeding towards Delhi and will produce the accused before a local magistrate as per legal procedure.
Transit remand granted after late night court proceedings
Local court in Shimla in late night proceedings granted transit remand to three accused arrested by the Delhi Police from Rohru in Shimla district, officials said early Thursday.
