Protesters initially thought of entering Bharat Mandapam with umbrellas with stickers, plan dropped at last moment, say police

“Delhi Police Security Unit personnel, who were deployed at Gate 4 from Day 1, were withdrawn on Thursday itself. On Friday, local police personnel were stationed at the gate. We suspect the protesters were not properly frisked at the gate,” a source said.

Another source said that a group of IYC members had gathered near Entrance Gate 4 around 12 noon. “At the gate, they decided to drop the plan to enter with umbrellas and proceed with the printed T-shirts only,” the source added.

Sources further said some IYC workers had been planning to stage a protest at the AI Summit since Day 1 but did not get an opportunity due to strict security arrangements.

Additional Commissioner of Police (New Delhi) Devesh Mahla said around 12.30 pm, a group of IYC members entered the venue. “They were wearing T-shirts on which slogans were written. But they were also wearing jackets and sweaters on top of the T-shirts. This is how they managed to mislead the security personnel,” he added.

Near Hall 5, the IYC members removed their jackets and sweaters and entered the AI Expo Hall while raising slogans against the PM. Police said when visitors and security guards present in the hall tried to pacify them and asked them to leave, the IYC members started arguing. Several videos of the incident have surfaced on social media.

“As soon as local police and paramilitary personnel arrived, some of the protesters ran away. Four of them were caught and allegedly roughed up by visitors,” said a source. A video showing the alleged assault has also surfaced on social media.

The police took all four protesters – Krishna Hari (35), Ajay Kumar Sainthwar (30), Narasimha Yadav (34) and Kundan Yadav (26) – to Mandir Marg police station for questioning. At least six more persons have been picked up for questioning, said sources.