New Delhi: Drama and chaos reigned supreme at the Ramlila Ground here as teams of the Delhi Police surrounded Baba Ramdev’s satyagraha venue soon after midnight and took away the yoga guru at around 2 am on Sunday morning.
The dramatic police action came after the Centre and the 46-year-old yoga guru on Saturday night accused each other of betrayal on mutual assurances.
Tear gas shells were fired to disperse the yoga guru’s supporters, who said they
were lathicharged by police as they tried to prevent cops from going near Baba Ramdev and arresting him.Police, with the help of the CRPF and the RAF, also dismantled the stage that had been put for Ramdev’s campaign.
Section 144 has been imposed at the Ramlila Ground.
Speaking to newspersons briefly at the Ramlila Ground, Police Commissioner BK Gupta clarified that Baba Ramdev had not been arrested but had been taken to a safe place due to security concerns.
Earlier, Home Secretary GK Pillai had maintained that Ramdev was not arrested or detained.
The Delhi police crackdown came after it cancelled the permission granted to Baba Ramdev to conduct a 'yoga camp' at the Ramlila Grounds.
On Saturday night the government and Ramdev indulged in a blame game. Union Minister Kapil Sibal, who had negotiated with Ramdev in a bid to prevent him from going on fast, made public a letter written by the yoga guru’s aide disclosing that they would call off the fast on Saturday evening if the government gave written assurances on a legislation to bring back the black money from abroad and stringent punishment to offenders.
Ramdev hit back saying the government has indulged in "betrayal and cheating" and vowed not to talk to Sibal ever in his life. He said he would go by the word of the Prime Minister.
After mutual accusations, the government late Saturday night sent a fresh letter of assurance on his demands and appealed to him to withdraw his fast. But uncertainty remained over when Ramdev would end his fast.
Breaking the calm of the night, police force closed in on the Ramlila Ground soon after midnight. In the drama – enacted live in front of TV cameras – police sought to approach Ramdev, who was sleeping on the specially-erected rostrum from where he had been addressing his supporters throughout the day.
But as news spread that Ramdev may be arrested, a posse of women supporters formed a human cordon around him making the job of police difficult to approach him.
A section of supporters threw pots, tripods and mike stands on cops to prevent them from coming close to the stage.
The crowd dispersed from the stage after police fired tear gas shells. People were seen vacating the dais and the surrounding area after tear gas enveloped the whole area.
There was a minor fire when one of the tear gas shells emitted spark while falling near the stage. The blaze was put out immediately.
Banners were torn, mattresses and furniture lay all over the site.
Earlier, Ramdev was seen appealing his supporters to remain calm and tried to pacify them while urging them not to resort to violence.
In his address to the supporters, Ramdev appealed to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to allow him to be arrested during daytime.
"Why am I being arrested without any information, at night? I appeal to people to maintain calm...," Ramdev told the gathering.
He also appealed the people of Delhi to come in large numbers to the protest venue.
Some supporters carried Baba Ramdev on their shoulders and that was the last that he was seen on television screens before he was evicted from the place.
Ramdev's spokesman SK Tijarawala claimed that police “kidnapped” the yoga guru and sought the intervention of Chief Justice of India to ensure his release.
Baba Ramdev's spokesman SK Tijarawala said, “I had never seen such an emergency-like condition in my life. We have not been told about his [Baba Ramdev’s] whereabouts and we are worried about his well being. The police can do anything to him," he said.
The Ramlila ground was booked for 20 days by Baba Ramdev, who also turned it as the venue for his "Satyagraha" movement.
30 of his supporters have reportedly been admitted to a nearby government hospital for treatment of injuries allegedly suffered during the police action.
In related news, Baba Ramdev has reportedly been taken out of Delhi and may now head for Haridwar. Some reports also suggest that he may temporarily move to Gurgaon.
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