Himachal Pradesh Police detain 20 Delhi cops over arrest of Youth Congress leaders

The police personnel and the leaders were then taken to Shimla and are being presented in court. (File Photo)

• Himachal police detain 20 Delhi cops after Youth Congress arrests
• Leaders were held for protesting at the AI summit in New Delhi
• AICC's Rathore demands action against Delhi Police for the raid

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In a rare instance when police force from once state is pitted against the other, the Himachal Pradesh police on Wednesday detained at least 20 Delhi police personnel for arresting three Youth Congress leaders from Rohru, Shimla.

The leaders were reportedly arrested in connection with a protest staged by Youth Congress leaders at the AI summit in New Delhi. A Delhi Police team had arrived in Rohru, arrested the leaders, and were heading back to Delhi when they were stopped near Dharampur by the state police, who allegedly detained them. The police personnel and the leaders were then taken to Shimla and are being presented in court.

SP Solan, Tirumalaraju SD Varma, reportedly confirmed that the Solan police received information about the incident and set up nakas near Dharampur at the Shimla police’s request. The rest of the action was executed by the Shimla police. The DGP has not responded to reports yet.

Kuldeep Rathore, AICC spokesperson and Theog MLA, has demanded that the state government take stern action against the Delhi Police for raiding Himachal Sadan. Rathore termed the police action against Youth Congress leaders as an attempt to suppress their voices. “Raiding premises without a warrant is a clear violation of privacy,” Rathore said in a press statement. He urged the state government to take legal action against the Delhi Police.

“Labeling someone anti-national for speaking against the PM is against democracy’s spirit,” he said. “India’s dignity is the responsibility of both protesters and the government,” Rathore added.

Defending the Youth Congress workers, he reportedly said the Youth Congress workers peacefully protested against the US-India trade deal and its impact on farmers and youth on February 20. He claimed there’s huge anger among youth due to the Central Government’s anti-people policies, lack of employment opportunities, and job cuts.

Criticising the Centre, the Theog MLA stated that the country isn’t the property of one party. “In a democracy, governments come and go, but the opposition’s duty is to raise the people’s voice,” he said. He alleged that the Centre is trying to suppress youth voices by making a huge issue out of the Youth Congress’ shirtless protest during the AI summit in New Delhi.