07 June,2011 06:48 AM IST | | Vivek Sabnis
Health check-ups by government doctors revealed that Baba Ramdev's supporters had gained weight in the past three days, even as they were on a hunger strike. Miffed at such reports, the protesters allegedly tried to destroy the weighing machines and threatened the doctors. Some 50 people from Bharat Swabhiman Trust, which is run by Baba Ramdev in the city, were on an indefinite hunger strike at Savarkar Smarak on Karve Road to support their guru's campaign against corruption.
Riled up:u00a0Baba Ramdev supporters try to snatch the weighing machine
from a hospital staffer
The Deccan police got a medical team, who, after checking the protestors weight and blood pressure level, concluded the supporters had gained weight in the last 24 hours. "This is a conspiracy by the government and Sassoon hospital. If they say that we have gained weight during our hunger strike, do they mean to say that we have eaten food in the last three days?" asked a supporter Younus Sheikh. Another supporter Suresh Jadhav, who is also a member of the Bharat Swabhiman Trust, said, "The police are playing a game and the doctor's report on Sunday should be taken into account and not the incorrect one which they tabulated today."
Supporters get vociferous about their agitation
Tension erupted around 5 pm yesterday, as soon as two doctors and their staff started weighing the supporters. The angry supporters asked the doctors to leave and allegedly threatened them with dire consequences if they submitted the report to government officials. Vijay Varudkar, head of the Bharat Swabhiman Trust, said, "This is a clear conspiracy of the government. There must be some problem with the equipment and the report of the weight gain should not be conveyed to the government."
The doctors who conducted the health check-up
Dr Varsha Zadekar and Dr Priya Rajput from Sassoon were conducting the examination. "We had got the equipment from Sassoon on Sunday and there was no problem whatsoever. The idea was to check the health status of each and every agitator who was on an indefinite strike. But today when we started checking their weight, we found that some of them had gained weight. This upset the supporters and they started getting aggressive and threatened us. Some of them even tried to destroy the weighing machines," said Zadekar.
Supporters of Baba Ramdev in a heated discussion with the police and
Sassoon hospital staff at Savarkar Smarak on Karve Road yesterday.
Pics/Jignesh Mistry
Senior Police Inspector Manohar Joshi of Deccan Police station, who rushed to the spot with his team, said: "We had a clear and honest intention to check on the health of the supporters and did not wish to offend them. We were concerned about the health of the people who were on hunger strike since they were senior citizens." Despite the incensed atmosphere, the police did not arrest anyone, and the supporters continued with their fast.
