Youth Congress ‘shirtless’ protest

NEW DELHI: The Delhi Police on Tuesday said it has added charges of “rioting” to the FIR against the Indian Youth Congress (IYC) members who staged a “shirtless” protest at the AI Impact Summit in Delhi last week.“…the aggressive elements made a premeditated attempt to breach the security cordon…they were brought under control and during this, some on-duty police personnel suffered injuries. An FIR in this connection was registered at Tilak Marg police station in the New Delhi district under Sections 61(2), 121(1), 132, 190, 195(1), 221, 223(A), 196, 197 and 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita,” Special CP Devesh Chandra Srivastava told reporters at a press briefing.He added that the preliminary investigation has revealed the involvement of several others who were providing assistance to the accused in various ways.According to the senior officer, eight accused have been arrested so far and other people are being questioned.“IYC office-bearers are among those arrested. They were taken on police remand and interrogated. IYC chief Uday Bhanu Chib has also been arrested,” Srivastava said.Chib was arrested earlier in the day after several hours of questioning in connection with the protest.In a statement, the opposition Congress party’s youth wing said its workers and office bearers were observing a “peaceful satyagraha” over the arrest of their national president and other workers.Last Friday, a group of IYC workers staged a protest inside Hall No 5 of Bharat Mandapam, the summit venue, by removing their shirts to reveal T-shirts printed with slogans against the government and the India-US interim trade deal, before being whisked away by security personnel.