Around 15 personnel of the Special Cell of Delhi Police were being held by Himachal Pradesh Police at the Shoghi police post on the Chandigarh-Shimla highway late on Wednesday night after a day of high drama and confrontation between the two forces.
These three individuals, whom the Delhi Police were trying to whisk away to Delhi, were also at the Shoghi police post as the extraordinary standoff between the two forces continued till the last reports came in.
Conflicting accounts from both sides
The two sides gave conflicting accounts of what happened during the day.
Sources in the Delhi Police said the Special Cell team that travelled to Himachal Pradesh had detained the three suspects — all members of the IYC — from Shimla district. However, when the Delhi Police team sought to produce them before a local court in Shimla to seek transit remand, the Himachal Police prevented them, the sources said.
On Tuesday, IYC national president Uday Bhanu Chib was arrested for his alleged role as the “main conspirator and mastermind” of the protest. (File photo)
“At the court, our team was informed that court staff were not available for the legal process. The local (Himachal) police kept the Delhi Police officers confined for hours. They were asked to show a copy of the FIR (against the accused) and permission from a court to carry out the operation,” a Delhi Police source said.
Delhi Police team stopped multiple times
According to this source, the Delhi Police team was ultimately allowed to leave in the evening, but they were again stopped at the Shoghi police post. “There, we were told that we had been booked for kidnapping, and were detained,” a source who is part of the Delhi Police team, said.
A senior officer of the Himachal Pradesh Police, however, told The Indian Express that two Delhi Police teams that were trying to return after arresting three IYC workers, had been intercepted near the bus stand in Shimla and in Dharampur in Solan district, and were produced in a Shimla district court.
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The officer added that the Delhi Police personnel, numbering 15-20 and led by ACP Rahul Vikram, left the court about 7.30 pm, despite Himachal Police officers asking them not to leave. The Delhi Police personnel were, therefore, detained at the Shoghi barrier in Shimla around 8 pm, the Himachal officer said.
In a statement released late on Wednesday, the Shimla Police said an FIR had been registered against the Delhi Police team at Chirgaon police station.
‘CCTV cameras at resort forcibly removed’
“Shimla Police on Wednesday morning received information that around 15 to 20 unidentified individuals, dressed in plain clothes, arrived in vehicles and allegedly forcibly took away three guests staying at a resort in the Mandli area of Chirgaon,” the statement said.
“…The individuals also took with them a Thar vehicle belonging to the guests. In addition, it has been alleged that the group removed the DVRs of the CCTV cameras installed at the complainant’s Chanshal Resort without providing any seizure memo or receipt. Acting on the complaint, Shimla Police have registered a case at Chirgaon police station,” it added.
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Sources in the Himachal Police said arguments had broken out between ACP Vikram and Shimla Police officers at the Shoghi barrier. The HP Police officers had informed the ACP that an FIR had been registered, and they could not leave without joining the investigation, while the ACP had insisted that his team had followed all procedures, the Himachal Police sources said.
ACP Vikram told The Indian Express over the phone: “I don’t know in what capacity the Himachal Police detained us. Two of the three suspects were directly involved in the shirtless protest, while one of them was involved in the conspiracy.”
Himachal Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu’s Principal Adviser (Media) Naresh Chauhan said, “There is a procedure when the police from a state go to another state to arrest a suspect. We were told that the Delhi Police didn’t follow that procedure. An FIR was lodged in this connection.”
A senior Delhi Police officer accompanying the police team said, “We are coordinating with the Himachal Police. We will take the three IYC suspects to Delhi tonight.”
The Delhi Police have already arrested eight people, including IYC president Uday Bhanu Chib, in connection with the protest at Bharat Mandapam.
Police officials from Delhi and Shimla in a conversation, in Shimla. (PTI) 
On Tuesday, IYC national president Uday Bhanu Chib was arrested for his alleged role as the “main conspirator and mastermind” of the protest. (File photo)
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