Court sends IYC chief Uday Bhanu Chib to four-day custody in AI Summit protest; Congress says ‘will fight it out’
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "Court sends IYC chief Uday Bhanu Chib to four-day custody in AI Summit protest; Congress says ‘will fight it out’")
Indian Youth Congress Chief Uday Bhanu Chib arrested in connection with the Youth Congress protest at Bharat Mandapam, being taken from Patiala House Court, in New Delhi on Tuesday. Photograph: (ANI)
Delhi Police told the court that Chib was central to hatching the conspiracy and provided logistical support to the demonstrators.
A Delhi court on Tuesday (Feb 24) granted four-day custody of Indian Youth Congress President Uday Bhanu Chib to the Delhi Police in connection with the ‘shirtless’ protest during the India AI Impact Summit 2026 at Bharat Mandapam in the national capital. The police, seeking seven-day custody of the IYC president, accused him of being the mastermind behind the protest carried out by the four co-accused, who are also in custody. They emphasised that the case involves national security, sovereignty and the integrity of the country.
These developments follow a row over the protests during the AI summit, after around 10 IYC workers entered Hall Number 5 of Bharat Mandapam on the fifth day of the India AI Impact Summit 2026. They had pre-registered online and entered using QR codes. Once inside, they removed their shirts to reveal or hold up T-shirts with images of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump and raised controversial slogans.
Delhi Police told the court that Chib was central to hatching the conspiracy and provided logistical support to the demonstrators, adding that several accused individuals linked to the case are currently located in Jammu, Amethi and Himachal Pradesh, and that custodial interrogation was necessary to establish coordination among those involved.
Opposing the custody, Chib’s counsel argued that he was not absconding and was still in Delhi, cooperating with the police in the investigation, adding that he had already been interrogated twice.
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The defence further said, “In a city (Delhi) where people are being murdered, the police have to recover the T-shirt. This is really a downfall,” and added that Chib is unaware of where the T-shirts were printed.
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“If they want to know the name, police can ask the same without taking him into custody,” the counsel added.
Delhi Police rebutted the claims, saying this is a case of unlawful assembly and criminal conspiracy. “The accused is the person who directed other accused persons as they were in contact with him,” the police said.
Reacting to the court order, Congress General Secretary KC Venugopal said, "Those who are agitating for the people, those who are raising the voice of the common people, those who are raising the voice of the farmers. The government is not hearing them. The Prime Minister is not ready to hear them. The Prime Minister is not ready to hear the voice of the leader of the opposition in the parliament. The most unfortunate thing is happening in the national capital. We will fight it out completely, we will be fighting out for the common cause for this country."
