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.