For almost a full day, there were two police forces standing across from one another on a freezing cold road in the Himalayas. An arrest stemming from a protest at the AI Summit quickly escalated into a dramatic interstate standoff between the Delhi and Shimla police departments.
However, on Thursday morning, the stalemate ended. The Delhi Police were finally able to continue their trip back to the National Capital with three Youth Congress members in custody. There will be many questions raised by the events of this period of time.
Arrests Spark Confrontation
Delhi Police made the early morning arrests of three youths who protested during the AI Impact Summit at Bharat Mandapam last week. After Delhi Police detained the three in and out of a hotel room located in the Chiragaon section of Rohru, local police transported them back to Shimla.
The state police subsequently registered a kidnapping complaint against the local police unit for placing into custody the three youth while not presenting any receipt for the three youth nor any prior authorisation from the youth for the return of CCTV recording equipment taken by the unit after the three were removed from the resort where they had been staying.
It was stated by the Delhi Police that transit remand approvals had been obtained from ACJM II Ekansh Kapil of the Shimla District Court following completion of medical evaluations performed at Deendyal Upadhyay Zonal Hospital. Furthermore, they stated that they did so lawfully.
Detentions at Shoghi and Kanlog
The standoff continues to escalate between police forces at the border of Shoghi. On Wednesday night, Shimla Police intercepted vehicles from Delhi Police at 11 p.m. and again at 4 a.m. on Thursday morning. The Shimla Police blocked one of those vehicles in order to conduct a search, believing it contained items including digital evidence, papers, and firearms.
Shimla Police requested keys from Delhi Police for the vehicle in question but were refused. Delhi Police managed to secure the accused under a transit remand for 18 hours, and thus had to bring the accused back to Delhi within 24 hours.
Shimla Police were dissatisfied with the documentation provided earlier and claimed that their counterpart exhibited a lack of professionalism. Both parties claimed obstruction on the part of the other.
This standoff has created significant traffic delays in the Shimla-Solan area. Neither side has been willing to give media briefings; therefore, there is little information available about what has occurred. Most information has come from eyewitness accounts and from comments from legal representatives on both sides.
Political Undercurrents
Charges brought by the Delhi police following the 20 February protests include riots, inciting enmity and offences under section 267 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita). A total of 11 people have been arrested thus far.
Political leaders in Himachal Pradesh reacted to the events with an initial reaction from Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu by criticising the previous actions of the Delhi police as being ineffective and inappropriate, whilst Leader of the Opposition Jai Ram Thakur claimed that there had been no cooperation from the state government regarding this matter in prosecutions carried out on an interstate basis.
After many hours of discussions, the current stalemate between Delhi police and the alleged perpetrators ended early on Thursday morning when the Delhi police left Shimla with the accused individuals. The remaining personnel stayed behind with Shimla police and are expected to assist in the kidnapping investigation of other accused individuals.
The road between Shimla and Delhi has been cleared and the next phase of the legal battles will shift from the police to the courts.
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