An Indian man has been arrested in Dubai after organizing a march in support of his country’s anti-corruption campaigner Anna Hazare, who is on hunger strike in New Delhi, a report said yesterday.
Abu Dhabi-based The National newspaper said the unnamed Indian was being questioned for “illegally organising a march through Facebook,” citing a senior Dubai police criminal investigations official.
More than 150 Indian nationals (expatriates) had gathered at Dubai’s Al Mamzar Beach on Saturday evening for a 3-km march in support of the crusade. Halfway through the walk, police arrived and ordered everyone, except the organiser, to leave, The National reported on Sunday.
The investigator said no permit had been obtained for the demonstration. “We were suddenly stopped by police,” the paper quoted a protester as saying. “We were asked to leave immediately. It was just a peaceful walk, We were just walking with badges of support.”
About 25,000 people gathered in New Delhi on Sunday in support of Hazare, who has not eaten since Tuesday and is calling for a stronger version of an anti-corruption bill.
Protests over India’s culture of corruption have erupted across the country over the past week and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has been widely criticised for mishandling one of India’s biggest social movements in decades.
