New Delhi: Social activist Anna Hazare was on Tuesday taken to Chhatrasal Stadium hours after the noted Gandhian was arrested by Delhi Police ahead of his indefinite fast over a strong Lokpal Bill.
As per reports, Anna and his key supporters were taken to the stadium in separate vehicles shortly after they were picked up from different locations.
The Chhatrasal Stadium has been converted into a jail, where Anna Hazare and all his supporters are being lodged there till further government orders.
Meanwhile, Anna Hazare today launched his fast in police custody at around 10am soon after his arrest for sticking to his plan to defy prohibitory orders and stage a protest against corruption here.
Confirming the development, the Team Anna said the Gandhian was on fast and was not even taking water after he was taken to a police facility in north Delhi.
"He is on fast. He is not even taking water," a spokesperson for the Hazare Team said.
In an early morning swoop, Hazare was detained from his Mayur Vihar residence before he was to proceed to the venue of his fast in Jai Prakash Narain Park.
Anna and his key associates were first taken to the Gazzetted Officers Mess in Alipur, north Delhi.
Senior police officials, including DCP (Crime) Ashok Chand, met with Hazare –prior to his arrest - in a bid to convince him to not go ahead with his planned protest defying prohibitory orders.
However, Hazare turned down the request following which he was detained.
"We have detained him as he did not budge from his position of defying prohibitory orders," police official said.
Anna’s close aides Arvind Kejriwal, Kiran Bedi and Manish Sisodia were also detained.
Flaying the police move, Bedi said, "Emergency has revisited the country. This detention is undemocratic and unconstitutional."
Expressing outrage over the development, another key Team Anna member Prashant Bhushan said that he will move the Supreme Court today to protest against the injustice being meted out to the anti-corruption activists.
In his reaction to Anna’s arrest, senior advocate and civil rights activist Shanti Bhushan said, “This government is unconstitutional. It has no moral right to continue. It is like that we are living under British regime.”
“Through the actions of his government, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has become Sardar Winston Churchill,” he lamented.
Separately, pledging strong support to Anna Hazare’s movement, former Karnataka Lokayukta Justice Santosh Hegde is also hoding a fast in Bangalore along with his supporters.
Earlier, around 500 Anna supporters today blocked the Delhi-Noida road and raised their voice against the police action. Chanting 'Bharat Mata ki jai' and 'Vande Matram,' supporters created hurdles in the way of the police which were trying to take him to a nearby police station.
The 74-year-old social activist had earlier announced to hold an indefinite fast at Jai Prakash Narain Park, near Feroze Shah Kotla Stadium, where prohibitory orders have been imposed.
Hazare had yesterday asked his supporters to fill up jails across the country if he was arrested after being denied permission to hold fast here.
After Prime Minister Manmohan Singh slammed him for resorting to fast as a protest when Parliament was seized off the Lokpal bill, the Gandhian had said he would go to JP park despite Delhi police imposing prohibitory orders.
"I come to understand that I will be refused permission. We will go there. If I am arrested, I will continue my hunger strike in jail. If I am released, I will go back to the venue and this circle will continue," he had said.
He said once he is arrested, people should fill up the jails in every village across the country. "Going to jail for the country is no crime...It is a decoration," he said.
Delhi Police spokesperson Rajan Bhagat had said that prohibitory orders under Section 144 CrPC have been imposed in some areas of Daryaganj and IP police stations, which include Jai Prakash Narain Park and Shaheed Park.
Hazare had also accused the Prime Minister of "speaking" the language of his ministerial colleague Kapil Sibal, saying the Lokpal bill was before Parliament which will take the call.
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