Corruption protesters target PM’s home

Officers detained scores of anti-corruption activists who tried to march to the homes of top political leaders to protest at a scandal over the government’s sale of coal fields without competitive bidding.

Hundreds of activists lay down on the road outside the homes of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and other leaders as police blocked them from breaking through security barricades.

The activists have said they will blockade the homes of leaders from both the ruling Congress party and the main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party because they blame both parties for India’s endemic corruption. In the latest scandal to hit Mr Singh’s government, private companies received profits of £21.5bn because of low prices paid to the government for the coal fields.