Anna Hazare, close aides arrested; triggers coutry-wide protest

Anna Hazare and some of his close associates were Tuesday arrested and prevented from going ahead with their indefinite fast demanding a "strong" Lokpal in defiance of the prohibitory orders, an action that came under attack from political parties and triggered protests by supporters across the country.

The 73-year old Gandhian was picked up at 7:30am from a flat where he was staying in Mayur Vihar in East Delhi after he refused to be persuaded by the Delhi Police officials who urged him not to undertake the fast since it would be in violation of prohibitory orders imposed on Monday night.

Hazare and his aides including, Kiran Bedi and Arvind Kejriwal, were first taken to the Delhi Police Officers' Mess in North Delhi and were shifted to another after Hazare's supporters gathered in a large numbers at the Civil Lines areas.

Nearly 1400 activists were detained in various parts of Delhi when they came out in support of Hazare, who had planned to launch the fast at JP park near Ferozeshah Kotla and Delhi Police Commissioner BK Gupta said they would be released after "some time."

The social activist, who is campaigning for a legislation that will cover the Prime Minister, higher judiciary and MPs conduct within Parliament among other things, was later taken to Rajouri Garden police station in West Delhi where a Special Executive Magistrate remanded him to seven days' judicial custody.

The decision to remand him came after Hazare refused to sign a personal bond undertaking that he will not defy the prohibitory orders and hold protests.

Hazare was taken to Jail No 4 in Tihar Central Prison where he will be lodged for the next seven days. His associates including, Kejriwal, Bedi and Manoj Sisodia, were lodged in Jail No 1. Noted lawyer Shanti Bhushan was also among those arrested.

Hundreds of supporters gathered outside Tihar jail after Hazare and his associates were taken inside the prison.

Shortly after Hazare's arrest, his campaigner Prashant Bhushan announced a series of agitational programmes, including a march from India Gate to Parliament tomorrow evening and protest by supporters in Delhi streets.

He also called upon government employees to go on mass leave on Wednesday to show solidarity with Hazare.

As Parliament was disrupted by opposition parties which attacked government saying Hazare's arrest amounted to "murder of democracy" and was a throw-back to the days of emergency, Home Minister P Chidambaram rejected the charge asserting  anyone saying he would defy prohibitory orders was unacceptable in a democracy.

Chidambaram said Hazare was arrested under Sections 107 and 151 of the CrPC because Delhi Police felt that he could commit a cognizable offence.

He said Lokpal was not a panacea for all the corruption taht existed in the country and government was taking a five-pronged action even after which corruption would still exist. It is a battle that would be fought on various fronts and no one can dictate that either "my bill or no bill."

Noting Delhi Police was ready to release Hazare on a personal bond if he would have given an undertaking that he will not defy prohibitory orders, Gupta said the Gandhian refused to do so.

Gupta said they had initially suggested that Hazare hold his protest at Sadbhavana Park which has a capacity to accomodate around 15-20,000 people.

"According to our intelligence, 15-20,000 people were to gather for the protest and we suggested that he stage his protest there but Delhi High Court had banned any protest there. It was then that we suggested Jai Prakash Narain Park," he said.

He said the CPWD, the agency which owns the park, noted that they could not provide the facility for more than one or two days. Police then intervened and got permission for three days, he said.

"Normally indefinite protests are not allowed in JP Park. The CPWD also cited a High Court order in this regard. We had to reject their application as they refused to give an undertaking."

"As they announced that they will go ahead with their protest, we imposed Section 144. There was a chance for people assembling there. Also we had the Rajghat episode in mind where within few hours, more than 1000 people had gathered yesterday after Hazare went there," he said.

Gupta said they anticipated "similar surprise elements" at JP Park and decided to impose Section 144 and senior officials went to meet Hazare this morning to convince him that he should not go ahead with his plans. "Hazare told us that he will go ahead. Then we had to tell him that he will have to court arrest," he said.

Hazare was first taken to a police facility in north Delhi's Civil Lines from where he was shifted to DCP Office in west Delhi's Rajouri Garden after a large number of people started arriving there to protest.

"So many protestors started coming there and keeping in mind security concerns we moved him out," Gupta said.

Police tried to persuade Hazare to call off his programmes and ninety-minutes of persuasion by a senior police official did not move Anna Hazare an inch as he stood firm on his plans to defy prohibitory orders, leading to his charged-up supporters trying to prevent his detention.

Chants of 'Bharat Mata ki Jai' and 'Vande Mataram' rented the air as tri-colour waving supporters of Hazare almost made a human wall around the vehicle carrying the Gandhian to a police facility.

As the stroke of 0730 hours, police informed the Gandhian they were taking him into custody as their efforts to convince him failed and the khadi-clad Gandhian came out of the flat in east Delhi's Mayur Vihar after instructing his aides to release his pre-recorded message.

The Hazare team hit out at the government for the police action with the Gandhian describing his detention as the beginning of the "second freedom struggle". He asked people not to let the agitation against corruption fizzle out and urged them to fill jails while his Team termed the police action as a "return of emergency."

"My dear countrymen, second freedom struggle has begun and now I have also been arrested. But will this movement be stopped by my arrest? No, not at all. Don't let it happen," Hazare said in a pre-recorded message.

The Hazare team described the detention as the "return of emergency without a formal proclamation" and asked what crime did the Gandhian commit to take him into custody.

"This is return of emergency without official proclamation. What crime did Anna commit? Unless we unite, we will be imposed with a defective Lokpal which protects corruption. We now need solutions not statements of intentions," Bedi said.