Team Anna supporters keep night-long vigil

New Delhi: Fearing forcible hospitalisation of three fasting activists, including Arvind Kejriwal, scores of Team Anna supporters kept vigil throughout the night at the Jantar Mantar protest venue.

The intervening night of August one and two saw around 300 supporters camping at the protest venue, where the fast of Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia and Gopal Rai entered the ninth day today, and keeping a watch on every step of policemen.

At 1 AM, even the routine change of duty of police personnel was initially perceived by protesters as a sign of mobilisation to forcibly take Kejriwal and two others two hospital.

A volunteer immediately alerted others and as supporters started gathering, a senior police official informed them that it was change of duty of personnel and they were there not to take anybody to hospital.

The night also saw groups of protesters leaving for residences of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress chief Sonia Gandhi to stage protest in a bid to step up pressure on the government to initiate talks.

Delhi Police had yesterday advised Team Anna to hospitalise the trio and warned that they would be "squarely responsible" if anything happened to the fasting activists.

Team Anna had rejected the government hospital report advising hospitalisation, saying it was "fake" and their doctors announced that they were fit to continue the fast as their vital parameters were stable.

Police personnel were deployed in large numbers at the site following bomb blasts in Pune and bomb disposal squads checked the protest venue in the night and early this morning.