Thaindian News

New Delhi, June 5 (IANS) The Ramlila Ground here Saturday witnessed high drama ranging from yoga guru Baba Ramdev’s diatribe against the government to a police crackdown to end his fast, leading to his detention past midnight. Here is the sequence of events:

12.15 a.m.: Police inform Baba Ramdev of terror threat to him and withdrawal of their permission for the yoga training gathering and ask him to leave the Ramlila Ground.

12.30 a.m.: Ten to 12 teams of the paramilitary Rapid Action Force (RAF) storm into the Ramlila Ground where thousands of Baba Ramdev’s followers were present.

12.45 a.m.: People sleeping wake up to find a large number of police personnel in their midst.

1.00 a.m. to 1.20 a.m.: Ramdev asks people to keep quiet and be calm. He says he is in talks with police, who had approached him for detaining him.

1.20 a.m.: First tear gas shell fired by police.

1.25 a.m.: Ramdev goes into a huddle with a few followers in an enclosure behind the stage.

1.30 a.m.: Seven tear gas shells fired at an interval of one to two minutes.

1.40 a.m.: Ramdev goes into hiding. Supporters try to trace him.

1.45 a.m.: Ramlila Ground cordoned off by thousands of security personnel. Police start removing people from the ground.

2.30 a.m.: Seventy-five percent of the crowd evicted from the ground.

3.45 a.m.: Venue emptied. People sent to railway stations and various places in the national capital region in Delhi Transport Corporation buses.

4.00 a.m.: Police detain Ramdev.

5.00 a.m.: Ramdev taken to Safdarjung airport and then the Indira Gandhi International Airport guest house. Prohibitory orders under Section 1444 imposed in central Delhi.

10.10 a.m.: Ramdev taken to Dehradun in Uttarakhand in a private plane.