Seer on fast for Ram Temple forcibly hospitalised

A senior Hindu seer, who had been on a fast unto death in Ayodhya demanding the construction of the Ram Temple, was forcibly hospitalised at midnight on Sunday, when his condition deteriorated, triggering outrage in a section of the saint community.

According to the sources Mahant Paramhans, the head of Tapasvi Chavni (a religious mutt), who had begun his indefinite fast on Monday, was dragged by the cops and bundled into a vehicle.

The Mahant was admitted to the Sanjay Gandhi PGI here, where the doctors described his condition as ''stable''.

Sources said that no visitors were allowed to meet the seer and security personnel had been deployed out of the ICU ward to prevent people from meeting him.

Sources also said that the seer had refused to eat anything and that there was a possibility that he could be force-fed if his condition further deteriorated.

The police action triggered an outrage among a section of the saints, who termed it ''barbaric''.

Former Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) general secretary Praveen Togadia, who rushed to Ayodhya on getting the information, condemned the police action and threatened to launch a nationwide agitation.

The Mahant had demanded that Prime Minister Narendra Modi should visit Ayodhya and pay obeisance before 'Ram Lala' at the makeshift Ram Temple.

The fast unto death had triggered unease in the BJP and the saffron leaders were trying to persuade the seer to end his fast. The state government had rushed a senior minister to Ayodhya to persuade the seer. The seer, sources said, had agreed to speak to chief minister Yogi Adityanath on telephone.