Anna Hazare to be freed from jail - report

Supporters of veteran Indian social activist Anna Hazare sign a banner with a portrait of Hazare outside the Tihar jail in New Delhi August 17, 2011.

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Anti-graft campaigner Anna Hazare, whose jailing has sparked protests across the country, is to be released from jail and allowed to continue his fast, the Times of India said on Thursday.

Protests swelled across India on Wednesday in support of the self-styled Gandhian anti-corruption campaigner fasting to the death in jail, with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's government at a loss over how to end the standoff.

"In a late night breakthrough in the deadlock between Anna Hazare and Delhi police over the duration of his anti-corruption protest, the Gandhian accepted the offer for 14 days of hunger strike beginning on Thursday," the Times of India said.

The squat and slight 74-year-old Hazare fasted as thousands of his followers gathered outside the jail. He was arrested on Tuesday and then refused to leave jail after the government ordered his release.

Hazare struck a nerve with millions of Indians by demanding tougher laws against rampant corruption.

His arrest, along with the brief detention of about 1,500 followers, shocked many in a country with strong memories of Gandhi's independence battles against colonial rule with fasts and non-violent protests.

(Reporting by Nick Macfie; Editing by Lincoln Feast)