Crackdown on Ramdev supporters at Ramila ground was preplanned to please political masters: Amicus to Supreme Court

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court was today told that the decision on midnight crackdown on yoga guru Ramdev and his supporters was taken in advance by the Centre and police implemented it to please their "political masters".

Advocate Rajeev Dhawan, assisting the apex court as amicus curiae, referred to an interview of home minister P Chidambram who had himself said a decision had been taken to remove Ramdev out of the city if he goes ahead with the agitation.

"This suggests that the decision had been taken but suspended while talks were going on and when the talks failed the police were told to enforce the decision," Dhavan told a bench of justices BS Chauhan and Swatanter Kumar.

He rejected the claim of the government that it was not aware of all the developments at the Ramlila Maidan where the agitation was going on.

"It is not possible to believe that all informations were not sent to the Home Secretary and further it was not possible to believe that it was not sent to the home minister," Dhawan said adding "it was an abrupt operation in the midnight to please their(police) political masters."

"The home minister and the police commissioner were working together to decide what is to be done to Baba Ramdev," he said.

He also contended the Centre was also planning to do the same thing with Anna Hazare two months down the line by arresting him in the morning but they could not.

The court was hearing the matter which it had on June 6 taken suo motu cognisance of the police action and asked the Centre and Delhi police to explain why it resorted to such an action in the middle of the night.

Delhi police, in its affidavit, denied the allegation that it had used force and claimed teargas shells were fired only after Ramdev's supporters turned violent and pelted stones at the police.

Justifying its action, police had said the authorities had granted permission to Ramdev to use the ground only to hold a yoga camp and not for any other purpose.

Disagreeing with the stand of the police, Dhawan contended the video footage of the incident showed lathis were used by them on the supporters.

"I don't think police are telling the truth. Whether they accept it or not, lathis were used in the night," he said adding "I am astonished and concerned with the malafide action by the police and the object was to remove Baba Ramdev at midnight."

Earlier, police had accused Ramdev of being responsible for the "entire mess" saying he should take the responsibility for it.