Youth Congress chief Uday Bhanu Chib arrested over 'shirtless' protest at AI Summit in Delhi

Delhi Police has arrested Indian Youth Congress president Uday Bhanu Chib in connection with the shirtless protest staged by a group of IYC members at the AI Impact Summit here last week, officials said on Tuesday.

Later, a Delhi court sent the IYC president to four-day police custody.

Judicial Magistrate Ravi allowed four days of custody to the police to question Chib over his role in the AI Summit protest, during which IYC members took their shirts off to reveal anti-Modi and anti-Centre slogans on t-shirts beneath.

The accused opposed the prosecution's remand plea, denying no “riot-like situation” was created and calling the allegations an attempt to “insert riots everywhere.”

They said those present were unarmed and beaten, questioning the need to recover t-shirts through custody.

Terming it a “simple case of criticism,” the accused asked, “Can we not even handle criticism?” and argued there was no common intention to assault police or threaten the nation's sovereignty.

The counsel for the IYC president submitted that his client was not present at the spot and had already been interrogated, calling the remand plea “frivolous and irrelevant” as he asked the prosecution to show any prima facie conspiracy.

Public Prosecutor Atul Kumar Srivastava countered that the accused, though not physically present, was “communicating and monitoring each and everything” and was the “mastermind.”

He said the knowledge that the act could lead to a riot-like situation was sufficient and that as IYC president, he bore "additional responsibility." The protest happened at India's artificial intelligence conclave, the AI Impact Summit-2026, at Bharat Mandapam.

Police have also stepped up security across key locations in the capital in anticipation of possible protests following Chib's arrest, which took the total number of people held in the case to eight.

Police had earlier arrested seven Indian Youth Congress (IYC) workers, including three from Gwalior in Madhya Pradesh, for the protest staged at the Bharat Mandapam last Friday.

They have been identified as Jitendra Yadav, Raj Gujjar and Ajay Kumar.

In addition, IYC's Uttar Pradesh general secretary Ritik alias Monty Shukla has been detained from Lalitpur in the state.

According to police, additional sections under the BNS, including 196 (promoting enmity between different groups and acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony) and 197 (assertions prejudicial to national integration), have been invoked in the FIR, which carry a jail term of up to three years.

Charges of criminal conspiracy, obstruction of a public servant in discharge of duty, disobedience to an order duly promulgated by a public servant, unlawful assembly and common intention had already been added to the FIR.

On Friday, a group of IYC workers staged a protest inside Hall No. 5 of 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.

Police said the accused registered online to obtain QR codes to access the venue.

Investigators are also probing an alleged conspiracy angle and the financial trail behind the protest, including funding for printing the slogans on the T-shirts.

The incident 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. — with PTI inputs