Delhi police has issued a release warrant for veteran social activist Anna Hazare, who was arrested earlier in the day in New Delhi and was lodged in Tihar jail.

The Gandhian will be freed later tonight.

Delhi police has sent the release warrant to jail authorities in Tihar. Earlier, the anti-corruption crusader refused food inside the jail.

A day that began with Anna Hazare's arrest at 7.30 am, mass protests around the country, a unified Opposition and ended with Hazare in Tihar. Scroll down for all that happened.

On the WSJ (and no, it's not about Anna Hazare)

Three years ago, Sanjay Jha was lured to revive Motorola Inc.'s ailing cellphone division with the prospect of tens of millions of dollars in compensation. It turns out, he could make more money from selling the unit, now a separate company known as Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc. Google Inc. agreed Monday to acquire Motorola Mobility for $12.5 billion.

In other news, top executive of tainted News International James Murdoch is likely to be recalled to testify by British lawmakers after doubts were raised over his evidence on phone hacking.
The House of Common's Culture, Media and Sport Committee would like to ask Murdoch about the contradiction in his testimony and statements of former
employees of News International, Tom Crone (former legal manager), Colin Myler (former editor of News of the World) and Jon Chapman (former legal director).

Young protestor in Kolkata says she will go to Delhi if necessary and court arrest there. Another protestor says his fight is against corruption. Nobody mentions Lokpal bill as yet.

Civil rights activist Binayak Sen says Anna Hazare's arrest is totally unjustified and illegal.

Unconfirmed reports say that bulk SMSes sent by Anna Hazare's team to garner support for the cause is being blocked by many service providers in the country.

The website ciol.com reports that in the earlier stage of the campaign, the SMSes had played a crucial role in reaching out to the people. When a team associated with the Anna Hazare campaign contacted a couple of bulk SMS service providers on Tuesday, as they wanted to send 8 lakh SMSes, the service providers apparently refused to do so.

Back to Hazare.

Senior BJP leader M. Venkaiah Naidu said the government, the ruling party seems to have gone berserk. "As the adage goes, when the time of destruction is near, the mind stops working. It is a democratic country, people have got right to express their dissatisfaction or express protest," Naidu said. 

"The Parliament is on. The government not only prohibits the protest, but also arrests all the seniors including Anna Hazare. This is atrocious, against the basic principles of the constitution," he added.

This is a must read, despite all your Hazare fervour.

The Guardian reports that Rupert Murdoch, James Murdoch and their former editor Andy Coulson all face embarrassing new allegations of dishonesty and cover-up after the publication of an explosive letter written by the News of the World's disgraced royal correspondent, Clive Goodman.

Read

Wonder if there would have been any difference in government strategy if Sonia Gandhi had been back in Delhi. As you know, she is in hospital in the US after surgery for an undisclosed illness and is expected to stay there for at least two more weeks. Rahul is now at the helm of affairs in the Congress and this is what we get.

Vicky Nanjappa reports from Bengaluru.

Nearly 87,000 techies have joined Anna Hazare's demand for a better Lokpal Bill. Protests were held in two places - Electronic City and Freedom -- which is expected to last another couple of days. The protestors have signed an online petition. Justice Santosh Hegde who was part of the Lokpal Bill drafting panel also took part in the protest.

Rediff.com's Vicky Nanjappa writes in from Bengaluru:

Nearly 87,000 techies have joined Anna Hazare's demand for a better Lokpal Bill. Protests were held in two places -- Electronic City and Freedom Park -- which is expected to last another couple of days. The protestors have signed an online petition in support of Hazare. Justice Santosh Hegde who was part of the Lokpal Bill drafting panel also took part in the protest

Meanwhile, at Azad Maidan in south Mumbai, protestors have been courting arrest, reports rediff.com's Sonil Dedhia. He says the atmosphere is electric with slogans of Vande Mataram, Inquilab Zindabad ringing in the air.

Mumbai police commissioner Arup Patnaik.has just reached the maidan. Protestors surround him.

Just in: The Congress seems hell bent on making it easier for the Opposition to double up its protests against the government.

Anna Hazare has been lodged in jail 4 in Tihar with CWG scam accused Suresh Kalamadi, while Arvind Kejriwal will be lodged in jail 1 with 2G scam accused A Raja. They have been remanded to seven days judicial custody.

Apart from Anna, Manish Sisodia, Navin Jaisingh, Arvind Kejriwal, Darshak, Dada Phatare and Suresh Phatare have also been sent to judicial custody in Tihar.   

Here's what the BBC says on Anna Hazare's arrest and the aftermath.

India has denied it is stifling democratic protest after police arrested 1,300 people to halt a hunger strike by an anti-corruption activist. Prominent campaigner Anna Hazare was arrested hours before his fast against a proposed new anti-corruption law.

India's Home Minister P Chidambaram said the detentions were because protesters had not obeyed police conditions for the demonstration. "Nowhere in the world are protests allowed without conditions," he said. "We are not prohibiting a peaceful democratic protest - we are trying to find a reasonable set of conditions under which protests can take place."

OK, Anna break.

Here's the trivia we promised you a while ago, before Anna was packed off to Tihar.

It's well known that people look more attractive and beautiful to you after you have had a bit of booze. Here's the reason.

It's because of something called bilateral symmetry.

It's thought that humans and other organisms have a strong evolutionary preference for the appearance of symmetry, and this means people who are considered attractive are often those who display a high degree of bilateral symmetry

Since you tend to get cross-eyed when you consume alcohol, your ability to detect asymmetry in faces decreases and reduces preference for symmetrical faces over asymmetrical faces.

Sushma Swaraj says the government is being run by the police and not by the PM or the Home minister. The BJP demands that the PM, and not Chidambaram must give a statement on the Anna Hazare issue in both houses of Parliament.

Arun Jaitley says the Parliament is supreme, but people have the right to protest.

Wonder what the BJP would have done had they been in power.

Tihar. Wonder if 2G scam accused and CWG accused have heard Anna will be an inmate in a matter of hours. Anna will come face-to-face with corruption in high places at the jail -- Mr Kalmadi, Mr Raja, among others.  

Anna obviously refused to sign the bond. Under Section 144 CrPc, assemblage of five and more than five people at a public places is prohibited. There can not be any public display of arms either. No lethal weapon can be carried in public. The section is used to mainten peace and prevent a breach of public order.

The same section was used on Baba Ramdev.

If you've had quite enough of news of Anna Hazare and his merry men, latch on to this trivia. It's about how your partner looks more attractive after you've downed a few.

But wait, news comes in that Hazare has been produced before the Special Executive Magistrate. Delhi Police chief B K Gupta says if Anna Hazare gives undertaking not to defy Section 144 CrPC, he can be released on personal bond.

Incidentally, Anna Hazare has been moved from the Rajouri Garden police station in Delhi to an undisclosed location.

And on the India Against Corruption Facebook page, a post: A question nobody is asking nor has the Govt said anything about, where is Arvind Kejriwal? Where have they kept him?

P Chidambaram says the government is willing to talk to Anna Hazare on the Lokpal Bill.

On January 19, 2010, slain RTI activist Shehla Masood had filed a complaint with the Director General of Police, Madhya Pradesh against an IPS officer Pawan Shrivastava for making threatening calls. Though the later is dated January 19, the incident, she wrote, happened a year and a half ago in 2008. She ends her letter to the DGP saying she feared for her life.

Her letter has a note scrawled by the Inspector General of Police, Bhopal, saying 'legal action or departmental action may be taken as deemed fit.'

The letter

Activist Shehla Masood was shot dead in Bhopal today, was a rediff.com columnist. Read her piece.

Shehla joins the ranks of Satyendra Dubey, Shanmughan Manjunath, Shashidhar Mishra and many, many others who got death by RTI.

At the press conference justifying Anna Hazare's arrest today... who said what...

P Chidambaram: Anna Hazare's decision to defy prohibitory orders led police to believe that he could commit a cognizable offence.

Kapil Sibal: Protests should be held as per law.

Ambika Soni: We are all against corruption.

Details on activist Shehla Masood's death have just come in.

The RTI activist was today allegedly shot dead by an unidentified man in front of her residence in the posh Koh-e-Fiza locality in Bhopal when she was sitting in her car. The motive and details of the killing are awaited, but a hunt has been launched to nab the assailant.
Shehla, who sat on a fast in Bhopal recently in support of Anna Hazare's 'India Against Corruption' campaign had also been working on a number of other projects, including wildlife conservation. She was actively involved in raising issues related to the deaths of tigers in the various sanctuaries of
Madhya Pradesh.

Home minister P Chidambaram holds a press conference justifying the police action against Anna Hazare: Hazare, incidentally, is at the Rajouri Garden police station in Delhi.

PC says: We have held discussions with civil rights groups and police.

Nowhere in the world are protests allowed to be held without conditions. The police will impose certain necessary conditions -- the government did not interfere. To say that civil rights groups will defy the conditions, is unacceptable.

Team Anna refused to given an undertaking.

This government is not against democratic, peaceful protests. Anna was arrested only after he said he would defy the law.

Unfortunately, Anna Hazare's supporters are in a free-for-all -- in Surat, diamond traders are being prevented from working. At the end of the day, a count of the revenue loss to the exchequer needs to be calculated.

Read: Pratap Bhanu Mehta's column in the Indian Express today on 'Anna's anarchy vs the government's goons'.

The writer is president, Centre for Policy Research, Delhi.

Quick Anna update

• At least a 1000 people have been detained in Delhi, in protest over Anna Hazare's arrest at 7.30 am today.
• Anna and five aides have been produced before the Special Magistrates Court.
• Anna has been fasting in custody since 10 am
• High-level Cong meet with Pranab, Chidambaram, Rahul to decide on the issue.
• Parliament adjourned as Opposition derails proceedings in both Houses.
• Group of ministers will address the media soon 

In an absolute U-turn, the US today exuded confidence in India's ability to manage its "internal situation" in consistent with democratic values, days after New Delhi took strong exception to the comments by the State Department on handling of peaceful protests in the country. 

"India is a very strong and vibrant democracy, and we have confidence in India's ability to manage its internal situation in a manner that is consistent with the democratic values of the state," State Department spokesperson Victoria
Nuland told reporters.

Just in: Anti-corruption crusader Sheila Masood shot dead in Bhopal. Details awaited

Anna Hazare's arrest seems to have catalysed a somnolent India. In Nerul, a suburb of Mumbai, 40 supporters have been detained. Detentions also reported from Dadar and Matunga.

In the Lok Sabha today, , leader of opposition Sushma Swaraj who was permitted by speaker Meira Kumar to raise the issue relating to detention of Anna Hazare this morning, said that she would speak only if the house is in order. Shortly thereafter, the Speaker adjourned the house.

Earlier, Ambika Soni, minister for information and broadcasting, denied that Anna was detained on orders from the government. "The action was taken by the commissioner of police on his own and there was no political pressure on the police," she said.

Prashant Bhushan says he wants people to wear black bands to protest government action against Hazare -- which is fine. But his call to government servants to take mass leave tomorrow -- is questionable. In effect, he wants government work to come to a halt.

Lawyer Prashant Bhushan, also part of Anna Hazare's team, is holding a press conference in Delhi right now. He says the government is behaving like it the British did pre Independence. Why didn't the police tell Anna why he was being arrested, he asks. He reiterates earlier stand that the government's Lokpal Bill will protect corrupt officers.

Shabnam Hashmi, who is the sister of the slain theatre activist Safdar Hashmi, texts: There is a democratic procedure to bring in new bills. The Lokpal Bill was introduced in Parliament; it is now with the Standing Committee. There are differences, but amendments can be moved.

Bills are not 2-minute Maggi noodles. Why is Anna behaving like a spoilt upper-class child who wants his chocolate immediately, otherwise he howls. It is sheer blackmail.

His campaign is supported on the ground by the RSS. Say no to blackmail, say no to divisive forces.

Just in: The Supreme Court has stayed the release of Hasan Ali Khan on bail
granted by the Bombay High Court on Friday.

Khan, who is India's biggest tax offender, arrested in March for his alleged involvement in multi-crore money laundering scam, was granted bail by the HC which observed that there is nothing in the Enforcement Directorate's case to show that the money amassed by him are proceeds of crime.

Justice A M Thipsay granted bail to 53-year-old Khan on a surety of Rs. 5 lakh.

Incidentally, Anna Hazare's team today said they will approach the Supreme Court against his detention. 

"We will move the Supreme Court," Prashant Bhushan, lawyer and close associate of Hazare, said. Terming the detentions as "totally undemocratic", the lawyer said the action showed that the government has no regard for fundamental rights of the citizens.
"Time has come to rise up against this government. We appeal to people to protest against the government peacefully," Bhushan said. Bhushan's father and former Law Minister Shanti Bhushan was also among the detainees.

Police detained Hazare and his close associates -- Arvind Kejriwal, Kiran Bedi and Shanti Bhushan -- after Hazare remained adamant on his plans to go ahead with the protest defying prohibitory orders.

Just in: Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Sushma Swaraj gives notice for suspension of Question Hour to discuss the Anna Hazare issue.

Get ready for a stormy session today.

Senior BJP leader L K Advani speaking to rediff.com this morning said, "The government is using Anna Hazare as a scapegoat instead of taking concrete action against corruption.

Senior vice president of BJP, Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, said Dr Singh's government is using repressive measures to quell a peaceful protest and said that trying to crush non-violent protests leads to conversion of protests into a movement.

Onkar Singh says that while the lawyers of Anna are likely to move the Apex court over his arrest and ensure that he is set free with immediate effect and allowed to go on hunger strike, the matter is likely to be raised in the Parliament as well.

L K Advani, chairman of the Parliamentary board of the BJP has called a meeting with the NDA later in the day to discuss the matter.

PM Dr Manmohan Singh is holding consultations with his senior cabinet colleagues and Rahul Gandhi (who is now back in India from the US) to find a way out of the tight situation in which the government finds itself.

Hundreds of Delhi university students gathered at the Delhi metro station to protest against Anna's arrest and shouted anti-Manmohan Singh slogans.

Rediff.com's Onkar Singh who will be sending us feeds from Delhi says Anna Hazare has appealed to his supporters to remain non-violent and not get provoked by his arrest. The Delhi police which took him into preventive custody to deny him an opportunity to go on indefinite fast to press for acceptance of his demands by the government on the Jan Lokpal Bill.

BJP, who must be thanking its stars it's in the Opposition, says quite naturally that Anna's arrest  is illegal.

Baba Ramdev says it's a violation of rights and freedom of speech.