Police arrest anti-corruption activists

Indian police detained scores of anti-corruption activists who tried to march yesterday to the homes of top political leaders to protest a scandal over the government’s sale of coalfields without competitive bidding.

Hundreds of activists lay down on the road outside the homes of prime minister Manmohan Singh and other leaders in central New Delhi as police held them back with security barricades. They later broke through police cordons at many places, and police responded by firing tear gas and water cannons.

Mr Singh’s government has been hit by a series of corruption accusations.

In the latest scandal, national auditors said the government’s sale of coalfields to private companies without competitive bidding resulted in windfall profits of $34 billion (£21.5bn) for the companies.