Senior Vishwa Hindu Parishad leader Acharya Giriraj Kishore and the outfit's Uttaranchal and Uttar Pradesh in charge Prabhu Narain Singh were on Wednesday arrested in Lucknow on their way to Ayodhya to participate in Friday's Ram temple campaign.

The two were arrested after they addressed VHP workers at a rally before they set out for Ayodhya where the organisation has planned a massive congregation to worship the idol of Lord Ram at the disputed site.

Giriraj Kishore and Singh were taken into custody along with some 1000 activists.

Meanwhile, about 1,500 VHP activists on their way to Ayodhya were taken into custody at Kanpur central station, the police said.

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The VHP activists, including a large number of women, arrived in Kanpur by the Lucknow-bound Sagar Express when the police took them into custody.

There were a large number of karsevaks from southern states of Andhara Pradesh and Tamil Nadu and Gujarat among those who reached Kanpur.

Already some 2000 VHP volunteers, detained by police, are lodged at the Mandi Parishad campus at Naubasta in Kanpur.