More than 24 hours after the police crackdown on Baba Ramdev’s anti-graft fast late Saturday, workers were dismantling tents at Ramlila Grounds on Monday amidst tight security arrangements.
The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) says the process of cleaning the ground “may take long” as it was the responsibility of the organisers that had booked it for 20 days. “It is entirely up to the Swabhiman Trust that had booked the ground for 20 days for organising Yoga shivir (camp). Now their organisers have to do the job,” Subhash Arya, Leader of the House in MCD, said.
The ground resembled a fortress as entry was restricted and police officials manned the area that was bustling with protesters two days back. The police cracked down on Ramdev and his supporters at Ramlila Grounds here after Saturday midnight and forcibly removed the yoga guru from the site. He was then evicted from the capital.
The property of the forcibly dispersed protesters was still strewn over the ground while police officials from the local Kamla Market police station said the Arya Samaj Orphanage was responsible for the belongings.
“All the abandoned properties of people who were present in the ground June 4 have been deposited at the Arya Samaj Trust Orphanage. It is responsible for the belongings,” said an official from the police station.
The trust, located at Barakhamba Road in central Delhi, is managed by Ramdev’s Patanjali Trust. “Around 40 to 50 people have claimed their property till now. The local police station refused to keep it with themselves,” Sandeep Mathur, manager of the Arya Samaj Orphanage, said. “Even now properties like luggage, shoes, chappals, and clothes are lying unclaimed here,” he added.
—IANS