A legal and procedural clash between Delhi and Himachal police forces ended after court intervention, allowing the arrested trio to be moved to Delhi under transit remand.
Police personnel stand near vehicles at Shoghi barrier in Shimla during the confrontation between Delhi Police and Himachal Pradesh Police over the arrest of three Youth Congress activists. | ANI video grab
A day after high-voltage drama and sharp exchanges between two state police forces, the Delhi Police team on Thursday left the Shoghi barrier in Shimla with three arrested Youth Congress activists, following a transit remand granted by a local court.
The confrontation, which saw vehicles detained, an FIR registered, and officers questioned on procedure, has triggered a rare public face-off between the Delhi Police and Himachal Pradesh Police over the manner of arrest and seizure of CCTV footage from a private resort in Rohru.
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According to officials, Shimla Police released all detained vehicles after the Delhi Police furnished a seizure memo. The 20-member Special Crime Branch team is now proceeding towards Delhi and will produce the accused before a local magistrate as per legal procedure.
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En route to Delhi, the team brought the three arrested accused to Ambala Civil Hospital for medical examination. The trio was arrested in connection with the IYC AI Summit protest case.
Speaking to ANI, a Delhi Police personnel said, “Delhi Police has left from the Shoghi barrier in Shimla. Delhi Police has given the seizure memo to Shimla Police. Delhi Police officials have taken along the DVR and seized the vehicle of the accused.”
ACP Rahul Vikram told ANI, “We have given them the memo… This is our government vehicle, in which case, the 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 three accused, Saurabh Singh and Arbaaz Khan from Uttar Pradesh, and Siddharth Avdhoot from Madhya Pradesh, were arrested by the Delhi Police from Rohru at around 5:30 am on Wednesday.
The Shimla Police intercepted the convoy at Dharampur in Solan district and later at Shoghi barrier, alleging that 15–20 personnel in plain clothes had forcibly taken three guests from a private resort at Chirgaon and removed the CCTV DVR without proper documentation. An FIR was registered at Chirgaon police station.
Superintendent of Police Shimla, Gaurav Singh, confirmed that 15–20 personnel were booked on the complaint of resort owners alleging forcible removal of guests and seizure of equipment without a memo. The accused and personnel were taken to the hospital for medical examination and later produced before the court.
After arguments from both sides, Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate-II granted transit remand to the Delhi Police.
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