New Delhi:
Activist Yogendra Yadav was arrested and released today along with 90 others over a protest last night by farmers at Jantar Mantar in the Centre of Delhi.
Mr Yadav, who spent the night at a police station after being detained, alleged that he had been manhandled, beaten and threatened by the police.
"Even when we tried speaking to media, SHO Dinesh Kumar threatened to kill me," Mr Yadav told reporters after he was released.
"He said maar maar kar bharta bana doonga (I will make mincemeat of you)," alleged the 51-year-old, who was expelled from the ruling Aam Aadmi Party earlier this year.
His former AAP colleagues, including Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, came out in his support.
"The way the police has behaved with Yogendra Yadav, we condemn it. This is not right as peaceful protest is our fundamental right," Mr Kejriwal said, adding that he would appeal to Home Minister Rajnath Singh to look into the incident.
Mr Yadav tweeted through the night about "brutal assault" by the police.
Delhi Police chief BS Bassi said his force had acted "within the realm of law."
Mr Yadav, who founded the Swaraj Abhiyan along with lawyer-activist Prashant Bhushan, said he had gone to Jantar Mantar after learning about a police crackdown on farmers who, he said, were holding a "peaceful" protest. He alleged that he was bundled into a police van along with other demonstrators and taken to the police station.
Mr Yadav has been leading a protest by farmers from Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan against the government's proposal to change the way farm land is acquired for infrastructure projects.
They had led a 'tractor protest' near the Delhi border on Sunday night, where police had prevented the tractors from entering the city. The protesters had continued on to Jantar Mantar in the heart of New Delhi.