VP Singh, Raj Babbar held near Delhi

They were on way to participate in a rally at Dadri to protest land acquisition for a proposed Reliance project.

Former prime minister VP Singh and actor-turned-politician Raj Babbar were among 97 people who were arrested on Thursday when they were on their way to participate in a rally at Dadri in Uttar Pradesh to protest land acquisition for a proposed Reliance project.

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Singh and Babbar, president of the newly floated Jan Morcha, were arrested at Ghazipur, near the Uttar Pradesh border on national highway 24. The protesters were marching towards Dadri to protest the government's acquisition of land from farmers to facilitate the Reliance Energy Power Project there.

Ghaziabad Police said both the leaders were taken to a guesthouse soon after their arrest.

The Ghaziabad administration had made elaborate arrangements to stop the protesters from reaching the venue after the state government had banned the rally. Apart from police personnel, members of the Provincial Armed Constabulary and Rapid Action Force were also deployed.