Shirtless protest at AI Summit: Delhi Police nabs Youth Congress worker in Gwalior, total arrests 5
New Delhi (PTI): Delhi Police has made the fifth arrest in connection with the shirtless protest by the Indian Youth Congress workers at the AI Impact Summit here last week, an official said on Monday.
The accused, identified as Jitendra Yadav, was apprehended from Gwalior in Madhya Pradesh, taking the total number of arrests in the case to five, police said.
On Friday, a group of Indian Youth Congress (IYC) workers staged a dramatic shirtless protest at an exhibition hall during the AI Impact Summit at the Bharat Mandapam, walking around holding T-shirts with slogans against the government and the India-US trade deal printed on them, before being whisked away by security personnel present at the venue.
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Delhi Police arrested four IYC workers on the day of the protest, with officials saying a wider conspiracy angle in the matter was under investigation.
The issue triggered a political slugfest with the BJP calling it a “shameful act to tarnish India’s image on the global stage”, and the IYC defending it as a “peaceful” demonstration aimed at safeguarding national interests.
According to police, the IYC workers on Friday entered the lobby area of Hall No. 5 and raised slogans after removing the T-shirts worn under their shirts.
According to police sources, the protesters allegedly registered online to obtain QR codes to enter the venue. The accused had initially planned to paste printed stickers on black umbrellas and sneak them into the Bharat Mandapam.
However, they later felt that the black umbrellas might draw the attention of the security personnel manning the gates, so they changed their plan and got the printed stickers placed on T-shirts and wore them under their shirts, a source said.
Once inside, they raised slogans after removing the shirts worn over slogan-printed T-shirts, which read “PM is compromised”, “India-US Trade Deal” and “Epstein Files”.
The sources claimed the protesters also manhandled some police officers on duty, and the entire matter is under investigation.
The investigators are also probing the financial trail behind the protest, including who funded printing slogans on the T-shirts.
IYC president Uday Bhanu Chib was earlier questioned in connection with the case, and more names have surfaced during interrogation of the accused, the sources said.
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Kerala court sentences 20-year-old man in minor girl rape case
Kollam (Kerala) (PTI): A Kerala court has sentenced a 20-year-old man to 21 years of imprisonment for raping a minor girl after befriending her on a social media app.
Karunagappally Fast Track Special Court judge Rajeevan Vachal sentenced the convict to 21 years under the relevant provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, special public prosecutor (SPP) N C Premchandran said.
The court also imposed a fine of Rs 1.1 lakh on the convict, the prosecutor said.
The incident occurred in 2024 when the accused befriended her on a social media app and then offered to take her to the Azheekal beach here.
However, instead of taking her to the beach, he took her to an isolated place behind the CHC hospital at Mynagappally here and raped her, the SPP said.
Following the incident, the girl attempted suicide, but was saved and then told the doctors what had happened, the prosecutor said.
The hospital authorities informed the police, who registered a case and launched an investigation.
The prosecutor said that seven witnesses were examined and 20 documents were submitted before the court to substantiate the guilt of the accused.
