In an operation that was meticulously planned, Delhi
Police and Rapid Action Force (RAF) personnel descended on the protest
venue in the heart of the capital, taking by surprise both Ramdev and
the mass of his sleeping supporters.
In no time, there was pandemonium as Ramdev tried to evade police.
As
the crowds became restive at the sprawling ground, Ramdev took up a
mike and frantically appealed to his supporters from the stage not to
indulge in violence. He also quickly ran into the crowds, perhaps in the
hope that police may not take him away.
"Why am I being arrested at night without any information? I appeal to people to maintain calm," Ramdev shouted.
His
core supporters and close aides did throw a human ring around him to
prevent police from whisking him away. But it did not work.
In no
time, clashes erupted between security personnel and Ramdev supporters,
some of whom armed themselves with iron rods, fire extinguishers and
what appeared to be baseball bats.
As some of them hurled stones
at police, the security forces hit back viciously. Some 30 people with
minor injuries were admitted to a nearby hospital, an official said.
A
few minor fires erupted on the high stage. The sound system was
dismantled. Not only did some policemen throw back the stones hurled at
them, but others fired tear gas, choking and blinding hundreds. Men and
women, who had been sleeping until an hour ago, fled in different
directions.
Amid the confusion, police personnel got on to the
stage and pushed away the organisers and others. Those who refused to
get off were hit with batons.
Quickly, Baba Ramdev -- who enjoys a
wide following in north India -- was physically lifted and carried
away, further angering his supporters.
Home Secretary G.K. Pillai
later told IANS that he was being taken to his ashram in Hardwar in
Uttarakhand and was expected to be there by lunch time.
Police said the reason for his removal was that Ramlila ground was given for the yoga camp and not for protests.
The police action drew sharp criticism from civil society members and opposition parties.
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) spokesperson Prakash Javadekar said: "It is an attack on democracy."
Swami
Agnivesh, a leading member of social reformer Anna Hazare's anti-graft
movement, distanced himself from Ramdev but termed the police action as
"unfortunate".
But the ruling Congress justified the operation
against a "thug" who had cheated the nation. "You cannot allow people
like Ramdev to run riot in Delhi. He had said he was going to have a
yoga shivir but he was trying to agitate people. The administration in
its own business is justified. This has been done in public interest,"
Congress' Digvijay Singh said.
But Ramdev's supporters were
angry. "What they have done is disgusting. It is barbarous," thundered a
former Indian Navy officer who said he had come from Chandigarh to
offer his support to Ramdev's fast against unending corruption and black
money stashed abroad by rich Indians.
An angry young man compared the crackdown with the earlier Egyptian protests.
"Even
in Egypt they allowed people to demonstrate for so long. Look at this
country," he said, clearly disgusted. A young woman accused police of
misbehaving with her -- and other women.
Within two hours of the
operation, the Ramlila ground was in a shambles and looked like a war
zone. In the morning it wore a deserted look with scattered, unclaimed
articles lying around.
The midnight police action came just about
14 hours after Ramdev went on his indefinite fast after his talks with
senior government ministers failed.
Earlier, the government had
opened talks with the controversial yoga icon whose demands include
immediate steps by the government to bring back huge wealth illegally
stashed abroad by rich Indians and tough punishment against those who
indulge in graft, among others.
Human Resource Development
Minister Kapil Sibal, who was negotiating for the government, had
criticised Ramdev for continuing the protest despite an agreement with
the government.