Congress president Rahul Gandhi, who was leading a protest march demanding the reinstatement of CBI Director Alok Verma, was placed under arrest on Friday. Apart from reinstatement of Verma, who has been divested of his powers and sent on leave, the party has also sought an apology from Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

“Congress President, Sh. Rahul Gandhi & other leaders arrested,” Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala tweeted.

Congress President, Sh. Rahul Gandhi & other leaders arrested

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— Randeep Singh Surjewala (@rssurjewala) October 26, 2018

The Congress has termed the move against Verma “illegal and unconstitutional”.

The protest march from Dayal Singh College to the CBI headquarters in South Delhi’s Lodhi Road area was joined by several opposition leaders including former Janata Dal-United leader Sharad Yadav and Communist Party of India’s D. Raja.

Top Congress leaders took part in the march that culminated in a demonstration outside the CBI headquarters. Leaders of other parties also joined the protest as a mark of solidarity.

TMC’s Nadimul Haque also joined the Congress protest march.

Gandhi got on to a truck in front of the police barricades put up outside the CBI headquarters to prevent the protesters from reaching the building.

Read | Probe against CBI chief Alok Verma to be completed in 2 weeks, rules SC

An estimated 3,000 Congress activists took part in the protest, shouting slogans against Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Congress leaders also protested outside all Central Bureau of Investigation offices across the country.

Uttar Pradesh Congress chief Raj Babbar led the protest march in Lucknow.

On Thursday, Gandhi had said Verma was “removed in panic” because he was going to begin a probe into the controversial Rafale deal that the Congress leader claimed would have been “suicidal” for Modi.

On Tuesday, the government had divested CBI chief Verma of his charge and made Joint Director M. Nageshwar Rao the interim director.

The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) took the decision as the war between Verma and Special Director Rakesh Asthana escalated over bribery allegations hurled at each other.

Asthana was also divested of all supervisory charges on Tuesday.