Shimla: In a dramatic escalation of Centre-state friction, Himachal Pradesh Police stopped around 20 Delhi Police personnel in Solan district Wednesday after intercepting them for what the state force called an “unauthorised” arrest of three Indian Youth Congress (IYC) workers linked to the shirtless protest at the India AI Impact Summit 2026 in New Delhi.
The chain of events traces back to 20 February, when several IYC members gatecrashed the high-profile summit at Bharat Mandapam, removed their shirts to reveal slogans criticising an impending India-US trade deal and taking sharp aim at the Prime Minister.
Delhi Police swiftly registered an FIR, slapping charges including breach of security, rioting, and criminal conspiracy. So far 11 IYC workers have been taken into police custody in connection with the “shirtless” protest, the last three picked up from Himachal Pradesh, police sources said Wednesday.
Those arrested from Himachal Pradesh’ have been identified as Saurabh, Siddharth and Arbaz and have been arrested by Special Cell of Delhi Police from Shimla in Himachal Pradesh.
Saurabh, Siddharth and Arbaz, not originally from Himachal Pradesh, reportedly went into hiding in a private hotel in Rohru in Shimla district. Early Tuesday, a Delhi Police team reached the spot, took the trio into custody without prior intimation to local authorities, and set off towards Delhi via the Chandigarh-Kalka-Shimla highway.
Things turned tense near Dharampur in Solan when Himachal Police, acting on a tip-off, set up a roadblock and stopped the convoy. The state force detained the 15-20 Delhi Police personnel, arguing that inter-state arrests required mandatory prior notice to local police to preserve law and order. “The action was illegal—protocol demands coordination,” a senior Himachal officer told ThePrint, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The three IYC workers were later shifted to Shimla and produced before the Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate (ACJM) Court No. 2. Delhi Police officers appeared in court alongside Shimla SP Gaurav Singh as both sides presented arguments.
Congress leaders have accused Delhi Police of politically motivated targeting party workers, while BJP figures and a parliamentary committee have slammed the original protest as “indecent”, “anti-national”, and a national embarrassment on an international stage.
After the shirtless protest, the Delhi Police had also carried out what Himachal Pradesh CM Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu described as a “midnight raid” without a warrant or prior intimation to the resident commissioner. Sukhu condemned it as “unfortunate and unconstitutional”, and he he had only found out after a Congress MLA told him the police team had come looking for protest-related suspects.
The Himachal government’s general administration department sought a detailed report from the Himachal Bhawan management, while the action sparked accusations of political vendetta against Congress workers.
(Edited by Viny Mishra)