Ramdev yoga camp was illegal, we were forced to act: Cops

New Delhi - 17 June 2011:Delhi Policeon Friday defended the crackdown on yoga guru BabaRamdevand thousands of his supporters at Delhi'sRamlila Maidanon the night of June 4 in their reply submitted to the Supreme Court.

DelhiPolice told the court that the congregation was allowed just for a yoga camp and not for any other purpose.

Justifying the crackdown, the police said it was forced to retaliate after Ramdev's supporters threw stones and flowerpots at them when policemen tried to reach the stage where the yoga guru was delivering a speech.

DelhiPolice has also denied that it resorted to a baton charge at Ramlila Maidan. The police said that tear gas was used only when Ramdev's supporters started pelting stones on cops.

According to the police, 72 people were injured, as the camp was broken up, which included 39 civilians and 23 policemen.

TheSupreme Courthad issued notices to Union home secretary GK Pillai and Delhi Police Commissioner BK Gupta on June 6 asking them what were the circumstances under which Ramdev and his supporters were forcibly evicted.

An apex court bench of Justice BS Chauhan and Justice Swatantar Kumar took suo motu cognizance of the police action against Baba Ramdev, referring to media reports.

Asserting that the yoga guru's agitation had become a national threat, the Delhi Police Commissioner on June 5 said Baba Ramdev was asked to vacate the Ramlila ground as there were security threats to his supporters since the number of agitators touched 50,000.

Baba Ramdev had taken permission for organising a Yoga camp at Ramlila maidan, but it turned out to be a political rally

Ramdev had, however, rubbished the Delhi Police statement that there were intelligence inputs about threat to his life, prompting it to disrupt the yoga guru's congregation at Delhi's Ramlila ground.

Ramdev, who was evicted from Delhi's Ramlila ground along with thousands of his supporters in a midnight drama on June 4, was later flown by a special plane to Dehradun from New Delhi's Palam Airport.

Delhi Police fired tear gas shells, when Ramdev was on his indefinite 'fast-unto-death' stir to demand several radical reforms in the prevailing political system, including a death penalty for corrupt officials.

source: Agencies