Ahmednagar (Maharashtra), Aug 16 (IANS) Residents of Gandhian activist Anna Hazare's village Ralegan Siddhi Tuesday took to the streets to protest the detention of the anti-corruption crusader in New Delhi. There were demonstrations in Pune and Mumbai too.


Scores of people trooped out of their homes soon after news of the arrest of Hazare and his team members reached the village, about 230 km from the state capital Mumbai. There was a spontaneous shutdown in the village.

Flaying the arrests, many villagers, including women, marched to the local Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation bus depot and raised slogans against the government.

The state police had deployed tight security in the village and all the roads leading to it from Pune, Ahmednagar, Aurangabad and Nashik.

While thousands of activists staged a march in Pune, a large number of protestors started gathering near Dadar in Mumbai to chart out the further course of action.

The main agitation is planned at Azad Maidan in Mumbai later Tuesday where prominent activists, including Medha Patkar, are expected to congregate.

Hazare, activist Arvind Kejriwal and former cop Kiran Bedi, besides 250 other supporters were arrested Tuesday morning by the Delhi Police before starting their protest against an anti-corruption bill.