They Went To Arrest 3 Men, Were Detained Themselves: The Cop vs Cop Thriller

It began early. Very early. At 5 am on Wednesday. And the tug-of-war between the two state police forces dragged on till 6 am the following day.

The issue: the detention of three Indian Youth Congress workers linked to shirtless protests at the AI Impact Summit in Delhi last week.

The state police of Himachal Pradesh, a Congress-ruled state, had summoned the three for a fresh court appearance following their detention by Delhi Police from Shimla, which the state force called unauthorised for lacking prior notification. 

Here's how it all started.

Around 5 am on Wednesday, a Delhi Police team arrived in Rohru, about 120 km from Shimla, in four vehicles. The Delhi team raided a resort in the Mandli area of Chirgaon in Shimla district and detained three Congress workers staying there.

After questioning, the three were arrested around 6:15 am, and the DVR (Digital Video Recorder) and other items found with the accused were confiscated.

Upon learning about the arrests, the Himachal Police swung into action. 

It set up blockades at three different locations.

At around 10:30 am, a Delhi Police vehicle was stopped at ISBT Shimla. A second vehicle was stopped at Shoghi. And the remaining two vehicles were stopped at Dharampur, Solan.

The action then moved to the court. 

After detaining their Delhi counterparts for about three hours, the Shimla Police took the Delhi Police to the local court. The Shimla Police filed their application, while the Delhi Police were not allowed to file theirs. The court did not hear the Shimla Police's petition.

By now, it was early evening. 

At around 5 pm, when the Delhi Police once again left with the accused, they were again stopped outside the court. After a prolonged detention, the Shimla Police allowed the Delhi Police to leave due to the presence of media.

It was night by then, but the two police forces were in no mood to relent. 

At around 8:11 pm, the Shimla Police filed a kidnapping case against the Delhi Police based on the complaint of the resort owner, from where the accused were picked up. 

The Delhi Police team was again stopped near Shoghi that night.

The high-voltage drama was now unfolding on the road. 

The Delhi police, now, faced an FIR. 

An argument between personnel from both forces continued for some time as Himachal authorities insisted that the suspects could not be taken out of the state without securing a transit remand from a local court.

At around 11:30 pm, the accused were taken to Ripon Hospital for a medical examination.

The three accused, along with members of the Delhi Police, were taken to the residence of Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate (ACJM II) Ekansh Kapil at 1.30 am. Shortly after, the Delhi Police received transit remand for all three accused.

The judge granted the Delhi Police permission to take the accused with them.

But then, the Delhi Police took them to the Shimla Police Station. 

"We are not allowed to leave. Shimla police says they want to frisk us at the police station. So we are again held up," said an official of Delhi Police.

They threatened to seize the Delhi Police vehicle and pressured them to hand over the DVR they had seized. The argument continued for a long time at the police station.

However, early Thursday morning, the Delhi police team was detained again at Kanlog in Shimla city. They were instructed to return to the national capital with the accused and a few additional police personnel, while the remaining members were asked to stay behind and cooperate with the investigation into the kidnapping case against them.

The Shimla police also asked the Delhi team to hand over a copy of the digital evidence they possessed, which had allegedly been gathered during the arrest of the activists in Rohru.

The Delhi Police insisted that the safety of the three accused was their responsibility and that they would not leave any of their members behind. They later continued their movement towards Shoghi.

Video footage from the scene showed Delhi Police Special Cell ACP Rahul Vikram telling Himachal officers: "We have arrested three people. You are preventing a government employee from working."

A Himachal Pradesh Police officer is heard responding: "We have filed a case against you. You are kidnapping three people. You should join the investigation."

Later at the Shoghi border, however, the Delhi team was detained yet again by the Shimla police at 4 am.

The Shimla police barricaded a vehicle belonging to the Delhi Police, which contained CCTV footage and other evidence. The Delhi Police stated that this vehicle holds digital evidence, accompanying documents, and arms.

During the standoff, the Shimla police sought the keys to the barricaded vehicle, but the Delhi Police refused to hand them over.

A personnel from the Delhi team informed the Shimla police that a seizure memo had been provided, and the relevant documents had been shown to the ACJM, based on which they were granted the transit remand.

The Delhi police stated that they received 18 hours of transit remand, of which five hours had already elapsed.

The impasse ended when the Delhi Police shared a copy of the seizure memo with the Shimla Police. Although they did not share the digital evidence, the memo listed the evidence in their possession related to the case.

Delhi Police ACP Rahul Vikram later told the media that the Shimla police could not legally seize the digital evidence or their vehicle. He added that the Shimla police would need to submit a written request if they wanted access to the evidence.

After this, at around 6 am, the Delhi Police team left with the accused.

The Delhi police are now set to produce the accused before a local magistrate in the national capital to seek remand.