New Delhi: The Delhi Police on Saturday asked that the four accused, who carried out a shirtless march at Bharat Mandapam during the Amnesty International summit, be detained for five days. While seeking remand, Delhi Police said the accused organized a protest similar to the one in Nepal, alleging it was a conspiracy to defame the country internationally.The prosecutor told the court that the accused raised anti-national slogans while protesting against the Indo-US trade agreement and wore T-shirts with messages against Prime Minister Narendra Modi.When asked why the police wanted to detain the accused for 5 days, the investigating officer stated that there was a deep conspiracy, that the other accused had fled the scene, and that detention was necessary for a proper investigation.The police added that three policemen were injured and the mobile phones of the accused must be recovered to verify whether they were receiving funding. Four people from four different locations got together and printed t-shirts. At the same time, the defendants’ lawyer confirmed that they were targeted because they belonged to an opposition party. The lawyer also claimed that the accused and protests are taking place everywhere.
The lawyer added that the political opposition should not be crushed in this way.Following the protest, Delhi Police initially arrested about 10 IYC workers. “On Friday, the Indian Youth Congress organized a protest where about 15 people entered the lobby area of Hall No. 5 and raised slogans after removing the T-shirts worn under the shirts,” Devesh Mahla said.“The four arrested accused will be produced before the Patiala House Court; an FIR is being registered, where several serious charges are being invoked,” another police officer said.The source said that the accused got into a long quarrel with security personnel and police officers deployed at the scene.Investigators are investigating whether there is a larger conspiracy behind the incident.The protesters registered online to obtain QR codes to enter the venue, Bharat Mandapam, before staging the protest inside Hall No. 5, news agency PTI reported, citing sources.A small number of demonstrators got into heated arguments with some of the attendees before security forces removed them.Sources claimed that the protesters manhandled some on-duty police officers, which is likely to warrant non-bailable sections.The accused initially planned to paste printed stickers on black umbrellas and sneak them into the Bharat Mandapam, sources said.“But they later felt that the black umbrellas might attract the attention of security personnel manning the gates, so they changed their plan and put the printed stickers on the T-shirts instead,” a source said.
