Chennai, Sept 8: Activist Yogendra Yadav was detained by the Tamil Nadu police in Tiruvannamalai, where he was scheduled to attend a protest organised by farmers against the upcoming 8-lane expressway connecting Salem to Chennai.

Yadav, after being detained, claimed that the police "manhandled" him and "snatched" his mobile phone. The detention came shortly after he spoke to Tiruvannamalai Collector Kandasamy, to inquire whether the lands of farmers are being forcibly acquired.

"TN police has detained me and team in Chengam PS, Thiru Annamalai district. We came on the invitation of Movement Against 8Lane Way. We were prevented from going to meet farmers, phones snatched, manhandled and pushed into police van. First hand experience of police state in TN! (sic)," Yadav tweeted.

Yadav, 55, heads the Swaraj India which has extended support to agrarian movements across the nation. He was reportedly called by the protest organisers in Tiruvannamalai, to address the farmers in the region.

In the past month, Yadav had taken on the Haryana government by organising a 9-day padyatra in Rewari against the alleged anti-farmer policies adopted by the Manohar Lal Khattar government. Days after the padyatra, an I-T raid was carried out at Yadav's sister's clinic in Rewari -- which he linked to the agitation organised by him.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 08, 2018 01:32 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).