Premium

Shirtless protest at AI summit: Court extends police custody of Youth Congress workers by 4 days

Court extends police custody of Youth Congress workers by 4 days

shirtless protestOn Tuesday, IYC national president Uday Bhanu Chib was arrested for his alleged role as the “main conspirator and mastermind” of the protest. (File photo)

A Delhi court on Wednesday extended by four days the police custody of five Indian Youth Congress (IYC) workers, who were arrested in connection with holding a ‘shirtless’ protest at the AI Impact Summit at Bharat Mandapam last Friday.

The workers were arrested for allegedly breaching the security at the venue and raising “anti-national” slogans.
The accused include Krishna Hari, national secretary of the Youth Congress from Bihar; Kundan Yadav, state general secretary of Bihar; Ajay Kumar Singh, state vice-president of east Uttar Pradesh; and Narasimha Yadav, national coordinator of IYC from Telangana, who were arrested after the protest inside an exhibition hall at the summit on February 20.

The fifth accused, Jitendra Yadav, another national coordinator of the IYC, was arrested on February 22 in Gwalior.
On Tuesday, IYC national president Uday Bhanu Chib was arrested for his alleged role as the “main conspirator and mastermind” of the protest. He has been sent to four-day police custody.

Arguing that the incident was not spontaneous but executed after prior planning, the Delhi Police remand application said that the initial probe revealed structured allocation of roles, concealment tactics and coordinated post-incident movement. It, however, said that the entire conspiracy, including its hierarchy, funding and inter-state coordination, needed to be unearthed.

The plea named two “key conspirators” – Chib and one Bhudev Sharma, who was also arrested on Tuesday and remanded in police custody till February 28.

The police sought 5 days of remand, saying the five accused needed to be confronted with Chib and Sharma to “ascertain the hierarchy within the conspiracy, distribution of roles, planning meetings, decision-making authority and funding/logistical support”.

The counsel for the accused argued against further remand, saying there were “no coherent reasons” for allowing the plea.

Nirbhay Thakur is a Senior Correspondent with The Indian Express who primarily covers district courts in Delhi and has reported on the trials of many high-profile cases since 2023. Professional Background Education: Nirbhay is an economics graduate from Delhi University. Beats: His reporting spans the trial courts, and he occasionally interviews ambassadors and has a keen interest in doing data stories. Specializations: He has a specific interest in data stories related to courts. Core Strength: Nirbhay is known for tracking long-running legal sagas and providing meticulous updates on high-profile criminal trials. Recent notable articles In 2025, he has written long form articles and two investigations. Along with breaking many court stories, he has also done various exclusive stories. 1) A long form on Surender Koli, accused in the Nithari serial killings of 2006. He was acquitted after spending 2 decades in jail. was a branded man. Deemed the “cannibal" who allegedly lured children to his employer’s house in Noida, murdered them, and “ate their flesh” – his actions cited were cited as evidence of human depravity at its worst. However, the SC acquitted him finding various lapses in the investigation. The Indian Express spoke to his lawyers and traced the 2 decades journey.  2) For decades, the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) has been at the forefront of the Government’s national rankings, placed at No. 2 over the past two years alone. It has also been the crucible of campus activism, its protests often spilling into national debates, its student leaders going on to become the faces and voices of political parties of all hues and thoughts. The Indian Express looked at all court cases spanning over two decades and did an investigation. 3) Investigation on the 700 Delhi riots cases. The Indian Express found that in 17 of 93 acquittals (which amounted to 85% of the decided cases) in Delhi riots cases, courts red-flag ‘fabricated’ evidence and pulled up the police. Signature Style Nirbhay’s writing is characterized by its procedural depth. He excels at summarizing 400-page chargesheets and complex court orders into digestible news for the general public. X (Twitter): @Nirbhaya99 ... Read More

Stay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on Instagram

Advertisement
Loading Recommendations...
Latest Comment
Post Comment
Read Comments