Shirtless protest at AI Summit: Delhi Police arrests Youth Congress chief after grilling him for 20 hrs
He has been booked on charges of criminal conspiracy, voluntarily causing harm to a public servant, obstructing a public servant on duty, and wilful disobedience.
- Feb 24, 2026,
- Updated Feb 24, 2026 10:25 AM IST
The Delhi Police arrested Uday Bhanu Chib, the national president of the Indian Youth Congress, in the early hours of Tuesday morning. Chib was interrogated for nearly 20 hours, sources told India Today TV.
The police are likely to produce him in court soon and seek police custody remand. Evidence has reportedly been found suggesting that Uday Bhan was involved in the planning.
Police sources said that Chib needs to be taken into custody for prolonged interrogation.
This marks the eighth arrest in connection with the Youth Congress's shirtless protest at the India AI Impact Summit 2026. Around 7 people who have been arrested are linked to the IYC and Chib will be confronted with all of them.
Only after this, will it become clear how, when and where did the planning take place, police sources said.
He has been booked on charges of criminal conspiracy, voluntarily causing harm to a public servant, obstructing a public servant on duty, and wilful disobedience.
Congress MP Sasikanth Senthil told India Today that Delhi Police picked up Chib at around 04:30 am and that the Indian Youth Congress national president was in custody for roughly 20 hours.
IYC's shirtless protest at AI Summit
On Friday, workers of the Indian Youth Congress entered the venue of the AI Impact Summit holding T-shirts which had slogans against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the India-US trade deal.
The Delhi Police said that the protestors registered online for the summit and entered the venue wearing jackets or sweaters that hid the T-shirts with anti-PM slogans.
PM Modi slams Congress
Speaking at the Meerut metro links' opening event on Sunday, PM Modi attacked the Congress party over the shirtless protest staged by IYC workers on February 20. He called it an act of "dirty and naked politics" that "shamed the country" before international guests.
"The Congress turned a global event for India into a platform for its dirty and naked politics. Congress leaders reached the venue naked in front of the foreign guests. I ask the Congress people, the country knows that you are already naked, so why did you feel the need to take off your clothes? What the Congress leaders did there shows how ideologically bankrupt and impoverished the oldest party of the country has become... Congress is busy defaming its own country," Modi said.
Delhi court on IYC's shirtless protest
Commenting on the IYC workers' shirtless protest, a Delhi court said that national interest and the country's image cannot be compromised. It added that such an act "imperils not merely the event's sanctity but also the Republic's diplomatic image before foreign stakeholders".
The court's observation came as it rejected the bail plea of four of the accused IYC workers — Narasimha Yadav, Krishna Hari, Kundan Yadav, and Ajay Kumar — arrested in connection with the February 20 protest. The bench denied bail to them, saying the possiblity of them interfering with the evidence could not be ruled out.
"Such conduct palpably transcends the ambit of legitimate dissent, metamorphosing into a blatant assault on public order. It imperils not merely the event's sanctity but also the Republic's diplomatic image before foreign stakeholders, rendering it wholly unprotected by constitutional safeguards," the bench was quoted as saying by Bar and Bench.
The Delhi Police arrested Uday Bhanu Chib, the national president of the Indian Youth Congress, in the early hours of Tuesday morning. Chib was interrogated for nearly 20 hours, sources told India Today TV.
The police are likely to produce him in court soon and seek police custody remand. Evidence has reportedly been found suggesting that Uday Bhan was involved in the planning.
Police sources said that Chib needs to be taken into custody for prolonged interrogation.
This marks the eighth arrest in connection with the Youth Congress's shirtless protest at the India AI Impact Summit 2026. Around 7 people who have been arrested are linked to the IYC and Chib will be confronted with all of them.
Only after this, will it become clear how, when and where did the planning take place, police sources said.
He has been booked on charges of criminal conspiracy, voluntarily causing harm to a public servant, obstructing a public servant on duty, and wilful disobedience.
Congress MP Sasikanth Senthil told India Today that Delhi Police picked up Chib at around 04:30 am and that the Indian Youth Congress national president was in custody for roughly 20 hours.
IYC's shirtless protest at AI Summit
On Friday, workers of the Indian Youth Congress entered the venue of the AI Impact Summit holding T-shirts which had slogans against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the India-US trade deal.
The Delhi Police said that the protestors registered online for the summit and entered the venue wearing jackets or sweaters that hid the T-shirts with anti-PM slogans.
PM Modi slams Congress
Speaking at the Meerut metro links' opening event on Sunday, PM Modi attacked the Congress party over the shirtless protest staged by IYC workers on February 20. He called it an act of "dirty and naked politics" that "shamed the country" before international guests.
"The Congress turned a global event for India into a platform for its dirty and naked politics. Congress leaders reached the venue naked in front of the foreign guests. I ask the Congress people, the country knows that you are already naked, so why did you feel the need to take off your clothes? What the Congress leaders did there shows how ideologically bankrupt and impoverished the oldest party of the country has become... Congress is busy defaming its own country," Modi said.
Delhi court on IYC's shirtless protest
Commenting on the IYC workers' shirtless protest, a Delhi court said that national interest and the country's image cannot be compromised. It added that such an act "imperils not merely the event's sanctity but also the Republic's diplomatic image before foreign stakeholders".
The court's observation came as it rejected the bail plea of four of the accused IYC workers — Narasimha Yadav, Krishna Hari, Kundan Yadav, and Ajay Kumar — arrested in connection with the February 20 protest. The bench denied bail to them, saying the possiblity of them interfering with the evidence could not be ruled out.
"Such conduct palpably transcends the ambit of legitimate dissent, metamorphosing into a blatant assault on public order. It imperils not merely the event's sanctity but also the Republic's diplomatic image before foreign stakeholders, rendering it wholly unprotected by constitutional safeguards," the bench was quoted as saying by Bar and Bench.