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Indian social activist arrested before mass fast
Indian police arrested a veteran social activist just hours before he was due to begin a fast to death to demand tough laws against corruption in a campaign that has rattled the government.
The 74-year-old Anna Hazare was driven away in a white car by plainclothes police, waving to hundreds of supporters who had gathered outside his home.
According to a police spokesman, Hazare has been put under “preventive arrest” together with four others to ensure they do not carry out a threat to protests in Delhi.
No charges have yet been filed.
Hazare has reportedly become a serious challenge to a government with a perception of being out of touch with its citizens and as it tries to recover from a string of corruption scandals.
"The second freedom struggle has started ... This is a fight for change. Unless there is change, there is no freedom, there is no actual democracy, there is no true republic, there is no true people's rule," Hazare said in a message broadcast on YouTube.
"The protests should not stop. The time has come for no jail in the country to have a free space."
