MDMK General Secretary Vaiko arrested

MDMK General Secretary Vaiko was today arrested when he and nearly 750 of his supporters tried to move from Gadchicholi to Sanchi to protest against Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa's visit.

Police said they were arrested for disrupting peace and would be released soon.

"Vaiko has been arrested along with nearly 750 supporters. They have been booked under 151 of CrPC (disrupting peace)," Inspector General (Jabalpur Range) Madhu Kumar told PTI.

Vaiko along with his hundred of supporters were protesting in Gadchicholi near Pandhurna at the Madhya Pradesh-Maharashtra border against Rajapaksa's visit and alleging the Sri Lankan leader of atrocities against Tamils in the island nation.

"Vaiko and his supporters would be released by late evening," Kumar said.

Rajapaksa today laid the foundation stone for Sanchi University of Buddhist and Indic Studies, about 45km from Bhopal. Besides him, Bhutan Prime Minister Jigme Y Thinley along with Madhya Pradesh Governor Ram Naresh Yadav and Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan were also present during the ceremony.

All the MDMK workers and leaders, including Vaiko, MP Ganeshan and three MLAs were released later this evening and sent to Satnoor village located near Nagpur on Maharashtra border, police said.

"All the 736 party workers including Vaiko, party MP Ganeshan and three MLAs, who had been arrested in the morning for violating section 144 (unlawful assembly), were freed in the evening," Superintendent of Policc Purushottam Sharma told PTI.

The arrested were kept at 'Chandak Mangal Bhawan', which was converted a temporary jail, he said.