Wrestlers' protest: Deepender Hooda, Swati Maliwal detained after ‘brawl’ with police  

Several politicians belonging to the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Indian National Congress were detained by Delhi police on late Wednesday night after a scuffle broke out between the protesting wrestlers and the cops over folding beds.

Congress MP Deepender Hooda, who had visited Jantar Mantar with Priyanka Gandhi last week and had spoken in support of the protesters on several occasions, was detained by the police when he tried to reach Jantar Mantar.

In videos shared on social media, Hooda can be seen arguing with the policemen deployed at the protest site. He later tweeted saying that the police took him to Vasant Vihar police station.

Similarly, chief of the Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) and AAP leader Swati Maliwal was apprehended by the police when she tried to meet the protesters after the midnight 'brawl'. She can be seen being bundled into a car by the police.

AAP leader Somnath Bharti who, according to the Delhi Police, brought folding cots to the protest site "without permission" was also detained. AAP leader Saurabh Bhardwaj and others were also later detained by the police when they tried to reach Jantar Mantar.

Police said that this was because Section 144 had been imposed in the area to avoid a gathering.