Shirtless protest at AI Summit: Youth Congress national president arrested in Delhi

New Delhi: As the shirtless protest of Youth Congress workers at AI Impact summit triggered a political row in India, the Delhi Police on Tuesday arrested Uday Bhanu Chib, national president of the Congress youth wing. With this, the total number of arrests made in the case has risen to eight.

Earlier, the police had arrested seven Indian Youth Congress (IYC) workers, including three from Gwalior in Madhya Pradesh, for the protest staged at the Bharat Mandapam on February 20.

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.

According to police, additional sections under the BNS, including 196 (promoting enmity between different groups and acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony) and 197 (assertions prejudicial to national integration), have been invoked in the FIR, which carry a jail term of up to three years.

Charges of criminal conspiracy, obstruction of a public servant in discharge of duty, disobedience to an order duly promulgated by a public servant, unlawful assembly and common intention had already been added to the FIR.

On February 20, a group of IYC workers staged a protest inside Hall No. 5 of the summit venue by removing their shirts to reveal T-shirts printed with slogans against the government and the India-US interim trade deal, before being whisked away by security personnel.

Police said the accused registered online to obtain QR codes to access the venue.

Investigators are also probing an alleged conspiracy angle and the financial trail behind the protest, including funding for printing the slogans on the T-shirts.

The incident triggered a political slugfest 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.