VHP inaugurates yatra, Praveen Togadia among 500 arrested

AYODHYA/ NEW DELHI: Senior VHP leader Praveen Togadia was taken into preventive custody on Sunday morning after he defied prohibitory orders. Togadia was arrested from Gola ghat in Ayodhya. VHP chief Ashok Singhal left for Lucknow on Sunday morning on way to Ayodhya. However, the UP govt may not allow him to proceed to Ayodhya from Lucknow airport. Earlier, setting the stage for a confrontation with the UP government, VHP inaugurated its controversial yatra from Ayodhya amidst a massive crackdown launched by the administration which has arrested over 500 people including a former BJP MP and a sitting MLA. Ram Janmabhoomi Nyas Committee chairman Mahant Nritya Gopaldas kick-started the yatra from Maniram Chawani (akhada) in Ayodhya but was briefly detained by the police. "We have inaugurated the yatra. But this yatra should not be politicised. It is carried out all 12 months (not time bound)," Gopaldas said. Ahead of the start of the yatra, former BJP MP Ram Vilas Vedanti and sitting MLA Ram Chandra Yadav were arrested early on Sunday. Vedanti was arrested around 7am when he had left his house here for the parikrama, police said, adding MLA Ram Chandra Yadav was also arrested from here. The town has been under heavy security cover as VHP declared that it will go ahead with the yatra, which has been banned by the ruling Samajwadi Party government fearing a communal flare-up. A curfew-like situation is prevailing in the town as shops have been shut and Naya Ghat area has been cordoned off. Cracking down on the yatra, police have already arrested over 500 VHP supporters and office bearers from across the state. "Over 500 persons going to participate in the yatra have been arrested from across the state, where tight security arrangements are in place to prevent the proposed yatra. Anyone going for the yatra will be arrested as it has been banned by the government," ADG, law and order Arun Kumar said. Asked about the possible arrest of VHP leader Ashok Singhal, who will reach Lucknow from Delhi, Kumar said Singhal would be taken into custody if he plans to go to Ayodhya, otherwise he is free to go anywhere. TOI