India police have arrested a political cartoonist on sedition charges after his drawings criticising rampant corruption irked political leaders.

A magistrate in the city of Mumbai on Sunday ordered Aseem Trivedi held for a week for questioning about a complaint that the cartoonist had mocked the Indian constitution in his drawings.

Trivedi’s cartoons lampooning widespread corruption among Indian politicians were displayed at New Delhi protest last year by the anti-corruption crusader Anna Hazare.

Students, opposition politicians and free speech advocates protested on Monday that Trivedi’s arrest showed politicians’ growing intolerance for criticism.