'Shirtless' protest: Court extends police custody of 5 arrested IYC workers by 4 days

New Delhi, Feb 25 (PTI) A court here 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.

Arguing that the incident was not spontaneous but executed after prior planning, the Delhi Police 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.

Chief Judicial Magistrate Mridul Gupta extended the custodial interrogation after hearing the arguments by the public prosecutor and counsel for the accused persons. The Delhi Police sought an extension of the custodial interrogation by five days.

These 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.

Jitendra Yadav, another national coordinator of the IYC and who was arrested on February 22 in Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh, was also produced in court. The magistrate extended his police custody.

In its plea for extension of remand, the Delhi Police said, "Investigation conducted till date has revealed that the incident was not spontaneous but executed pursuant to prior planning, coordination and structured strategy among the accused persons." The application said that during initial interrogation, it "emerged that the protest was executed pursuant to structured planning, allocation of roles, concealment tactics and coordinated post-incident movement".

"However, the entire conspiracy, including its hierarchy, funding and inter-state coordination, is yet to be fully unearthed," it said.

The remand paper said that two "key conspirators", IYC president Uday Bhanu Chib and one Bhudev Sharma, were arrested on Tuesday and remanded in police custody till February 28.

It sought further police custody remand, saying the five accused persons 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".

"Multiple mobile phones have been seized. Preliminary extraction reveals inter se communications. However, detailed forensic analysis, CDR correlation, location mapping and WhatsApp/Telegram group analysis are in process," the application said.

It said that the accused were required to be confronted with technical evidence to "verify authenticity, explain communication patterns and identify other conspirators".

"Several co-accused persons, including Manish Sharma (national in-charge of IYC), belonging to different states are still absconding. The present accused are required to disclose their exact identities, whereabouts and role in the conspiracy," the application said.

It said that the investigation regarding financial contributions, printing source, accommodation arrangements and travel logistics were ongoing and required further custodial interrogation for effective recovery and verification.

"Further, the investigation, having been recently transferred to the Crime Branch, is at a critical consolidation stage and the present request is not mechanical but arises from fresh developments, including the arrest of key conspirators during the earlier period of custody," the plea said.

During the proceedings, the counsel for the accused persons argued against further remand, saying there were "no coherent reasons" for allowing the plea.

The Delhi Police has arrested nine people in the case so far. PTI MNR MNR KSS KSS