HEADLINES POLL ARCHIVES FEEDBACK SEARCH REDIFF NEWSLINKS US EDITION NEWS DEAR REDIFF THE STATES ARCHIVES
Police also arrested over 20 other VHP activists to enforce the EC's ban on the padshahi yatra.
Togadia's wife and daughter were also arrested as a precautionary measure, police said.
All of them were later released in the afternoon.
Meanwhile, at least 100 VHP and Bajrang Dal activists were arrested when they tried to enter the proposed venue of the VHP's proposed padshahi yatra at the Science College Ground in Godhra.
Special IG (Baroda range) Deepak Swaroop said police had taken the help of local MPs and other leaders to convince the activists that the yatra was over and to maintain peace and harmony.
But when they insisted on proceeding to the venue, they were arrested, he said.
The activists raised anti-Lyngdoh and anti-minority slogans while trying to approach the venue, he said.
The Election Commission has banned the yatra ahead of the December 12 assembly poll in Gujarat fearing violence.
Vajpayee has also asked the VHP to respect the ban on the yatra.
In keeping with this, authorities had on Saturday banned the entry of Togadia and Dharmendra into Godhra and set up a multi-layered security ring to prevent their supporters from reaching the venue of the yatra.
More than 700 policemen, including senior officials of the rank of Deputy Inspector General, were deployed in the town to maintain peace.
Earlier, after performing puja at the Somnath temple in Ahmedabad and making aggressive speeches attacking Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Chief Election Commissioner J M Lyngdoh, the two leaders set off for Godhra when the police stopped their motorcade and took them into custody.
The VHP had readied a specially-decorated chariot for the two leaders to travel in to the site of the February 27 train carnage that sparked off communal riots in Gujarat.
There were heated exchanges between VHP activists and the police when the latter closed down the public address system at the puja site.
VHP activists raised slogans against the administration and police protesting against the arrests.
The RSS has praised the Narendra Modi government's 'diligent and efficient' handling of the incident but said the VHP had every right to explain its stand on Godhra.
"The VHP had carried out its programme in a peaceful and democratic manner," RSS joint spokesman Ram Madhav told PTI on phone from Hyderabad.
EARLIER REPORT We will go ahead with yatra: VHP
Back to top
Tell us what you think of this report
