Shirtless protest: Delhi court extends police custody of 5 Youth Congress members

New Delhi, Feb 25 (IANS) A Delhi court has extended the police custody of five members of the Youth Congress arrested in connection with the shirtless protest staged during the India AI Impact Summit at Bharat Mandapam.  

The Patiala House Court extended the police custody of the accused -- Krishna Hari, Kundan Yadav, Ajay Kumar, Narasimha Yadav, and Jitendra Yadav -- by four days after they were produced upon the expiry of their earlier five-day police remand. 

The four Youth Congress workers -- Krishna Hari, Kundan Yadav, Ajay Kumar, and Narasimha Yadav -- were arrested during the protest at the summit venue, while Jitendra Yadav was apprehended from Gwalior in connection with the larger conspiracy of organising an unlawful assembly on February 20 at Bharat Mandapam during the AI Summit and Expo 2026, where alleged anti-national slogans were raised and attempts were made to incite a riot-like situation. 

Seeking extension of their custody, the Delhi Police submitted that during the initial five-day police custody, certain crucial leads had emerged requiring further custodial interrogation. 

Opposing the plea, the defence argued that the police had failed to assign any concrete reasons for seeking extension of custody and contended that no further custodial interrogation was warranted. 

After hearing both sides, the court allowed the police plea and extended the custody of all five accused by four days. The matter has been listed for further hearing on March 1. 

Earlier, on February 21, the court had remanded four Youth Congress members to five days of police custody following their arrest during the protest at the high-profile summit. 

Subsequently, on February 24, the court remanded Indian Youth Congress (IYC) National President Uday Bhanu Chib to four days of police custody after his arrest in connection with the incident. 

According to the police, Chib did not cooperate during questioning and failed to disclose details about the absconding co-accused and the source of printing the T-shirts used during the protest. 

The protest has triggered a political row, with the Bharatiya Janata Party criticising the incident as an attempt to tarnish India’s global image, while the Congress party has maintained that it was a peaceful demonstration highlighting concerns of the youth. 

--IANS 

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