India activist “allowed to fast for 15 days” (Reuters)

NEW DELHI (Reuters) – India’s leading anti-graft campaigner whose jailing sparked protests across the country has accepted a police offer to fast in a New Delhi park for 15 days, a senior adviser said on Thursday.

Protests swelled across India on Wednesday in support of Anna Hazare, a self-styled Gandhian anti-corruption campaigner who had refused to leave jail until he won permission to continue his fast until death at the Ramlila Maidan, a popular rallying in the heart of old Delhi.

“Anna has accepted the DP (Delhi Police) permission for two weeks (of fast). Anna now shall be at the Ramlila Ground post 3 pm,” Hazare’s aide Kiran Bedi said in a tweet from her official Twitter account. In a separate tweet, she said the agreement had been made for a 15-day fast.

Several television news channels also ran with the same information.

The squat and slight 74-year-old Hazare fasted as tens of thousands of his followers gathered at key locations in the Indian capital, including outside the jail. He was arrested on Tuesday and then refused to leave jail after the government ordered his release.

Hazare struck a nerve with millions of Indians by demanding tougher laws against rampant corruption.

His arrest, along with the brief detention of about 1,500 followers, shocked many in a country with strong memories of Gandhi’s independence battles against colonial rule with fasts and non-violent protests.

(Writing by Nick Macfie; Editing by Paul de Bendern)

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