Breaking the norm, tables and chairs were brought out for about 40 people, mainly women and children, gathered outside the Putrajaya district police headquarters today in order for them to lodge a report.

The report was on the alleged manhandling of hunger striker M Rukumani Devi by police personnel early this morning.

Tempers flared earlier, when the police said they would only allow two individuals in. This had irked Rukumani's brother-in-law A Thirumoorthy.

He insisted that all of them be allowed in, leading to a 45-minute stand-off outside the district headquarters.

A police officer, who declined to be named, told malaysiakini that although it was the group's right to file a report, the number of people must be limited.

However, a compromise was reached and the chairs and tables were brought out but those present still expressed unhappiness for not being allowed in.

'Forced' to hospital

The group had come to Putrajaya to visit Rukumani, who is now warded at the hospital in the administrative capital.

At about 1 am, the mother of two was allegedly 'forced' into an ambulance and taken to the hospital.

The 35-year-old housewife had taken her strike to the doorstep of the Internal Security Ministry to protest against her husband's, A Balakrishnan, restricted residence in Kelantan.

Rukumani is still refusing to consume water or food but has been placed on drips. Her condition has been reported to be stable. She has been on a hunger strike for 14 days.

Before coming to Putrajaya, she had been on strike together with her husband in Kelantan.

The latter, according to a statement from Suaram this evening, had discharged himself from the Kota Bharu hospital where he was warded since Dec 10 and continued his hunger strike.

Balakrishnan, an MIC leader from Selangor, had been arrested in 2004 over gangland charges under the Emergency Ordinance.

He was then sent to the Simpang Renggam detention centre in Johor but was freed on Feb 28 after a court ruled that his detention was unlawful. However, he was re-arrested on the same day and banished to Kelantan.

Meanwhile, a police source said that Rukumani was taken to the hospital because they were worried about her condition.

"If anything had happened to her at the ministry complex, we might have been blamed. We had to take precaution. Furthermore, the building is off-limits to the public after 6 pm," he said.

He added that Rukumani tried to resist when being escorted into the ambulance.

Contacted later, Putrajaya district police chief Supt Mohd Kalil declined to comment on the matter.