After a day-long high-voltage drama involving the Delhi Police and Himachal Pradesh Police, and repeated arrests, the Delhi Police finally left at around 5:55 am for Delhi with the three accused whom they had arrested from Rohru in Shimla district.
This comes after a prolonged scuffle with the Shimla Police and a high voltage drama that continued till Wednesday, the Delhi Police team on Thursday morning left the Shoghi checkpoint with all the vehicles and the three accused who were sent to remand by a local court.
The arrests sparked a series of sensational events till Wednesday, including interception and detention of a Delhi Police team by Himachal Pradesh Police, arguments between police teams at multiple checkpoints, and lengthy legal proceedings before the accused were finally produced in court.
Read also | Khaki vs Khaki: Himachal cops detain Delhi Police team in ‘jurisdiction’ tussle.
According to officials, the Shimla Police released all the seized vehicles, allowing the Delhi Police to proceed towards Delhi with the accused and the seized items.
Without wanting to give his name, a Delhi Police personnel said, “Delhi Police has left Shoghi checkpoint in Shimla. Delhi Police has handed over the arrest warrant to Shimla Police. Delhi Police officials have taken away the DVR and the seized Thar vehicle of the accused. Now Delhi Police will produce the three accused before the District Magistrate in Delhi.”
The official further stated that the three accused, Saurabh Singh and Arbaaz Khan, hailing from Uttar Pradesh, and Siddharth Avdhut, from Madhya Pradesh, were arrested by Delhi Police from Rohru area of Shimla district.
“There was an argument at the place and questions were raised about how Shimla Police could try to seize our car under the law. After that, Shimla Police, who had impounded all our cars, finally released them. It is now around 6 pm and we are finally leaving. We have been in custody for some time,” he added.
Rahul Vikram, Delhi Police chief, said: “We have given them the warrant, which is the seizure warrant. This is our government vehicle and in this case the property was kept, so it could not have been seized. Finally, we will all leave now. We have been in custody for a long time.”
The Delhi Police team is now heading towards Delhi and the accused will be produced before a local magistrate as per legal procedures.
Remand was granted after late night court proceedings
A district court in Shimla late night granted remand to three accused arrested by Delhi Police from Rohru in Shimla district, officials said early on Thursday.
The three accused Sourav, Arbaaz and Siddharth were produced at around 1:00 am before ACJM-II Ekansh Kapil, where Delhi Police’s plea for remand was heard and allowed.
According to details, Delhi Police arrested the three youths from Rohru at around 5:30 am on Wednesday and took them towards Shimla. However, based on the information, Himachal Pradesh Police intercepted the Delhi Police team at Dharampur in Solan district and detained them along with the accused.
The accused were later transferred to Shimla for legal action. During the day, a special complaint was also filed by the SHO of Baluganj Police Station, before the court alleging procedural lapses.
In the evening, when the Delhi Police again tried to shift the accused towards Delhi, the team was stopped at a barricade on the outskirts of Shimla, leading to heated scuffles between the police forces. The accused and Delhi Police personnel were detained for several hours before being produced before a judge. An FIR has also been registered by the Shimla police.
Sandeep Dutta, the accused’s lawyer, said the arrest was illegal and due process was not followed. He told the media that the defense opposed pretrial detention on the grounds of “unlawful detention”, absence of proper documents and failure to conduct a medical examination of the accused at the time of arrest.
He said that the objections were formally raised before the court, which heard the defense submissions before issuing its order.
Advocate Nand Lal Thakur, representing the Delhi Police, said the remand application was transferred to the CJEU, which referred the matter to the District Additional Judicial Magistrate where it was approved.
Thakur said that the accused will be transferred to Delhi and produced before a competent court there as the matter is still under investigation.
