Maratha quota stir turns violent in Maharashtra, policeman hurt AURANGABAD:
Constable killed in stone-pelting, vehicles torched; call given for Mumbai bandh today
A policemen and two others were injured as the campaign for a Maratha quota turned violent here even as protests were held in different parts of Maharashtra by the Maratha Kranti on Tuesday.
A large number of protestors torched a fire brigade vehicle near Kaigaon in Aurangabad district where a 28-year-old, Kakasaheb Dattatreya Shinde, committed suicide by jumping in the Godavari river on Monday evening demanding reservations.
The repercussions of Shinde’s death were felt in different parts of the state with spontaneous shutdowns, road and rail blockades, processions and stray incidents of arson on Tuesday.
A constable died and another was injured in stone pelting on Tuesday as a state-wide protest called by outfits seeking reservation for the Maratha community turned violent with agitators classing with police and torching vehicles in Aurangabad and adjoining districts of Maharashtra.
As the stir for reservation in jobs and education intensified, the Maratha Kranti Morcha, which is spearheading the agitation, also decided to call for a Mumbai bandh on Wednesday.
The outfit had called for Tuesday’s Maharashtra bandh after the death of a protestor yesterday during a protest march in favour of reservations.
The 27-year-old Kakasaheb Shinde, had jumped off a bridge over Godavari river in Aurangabad. He was rushed to a hospital where he was declared dead.
Quotas for Marathas, a politically influential community that constitutes around 30 per cent of the state’s population, has been a hugely contentious issue.
Another protestor, 31-yearold Jagannath Sonawane from Aurangabad district, Tuesdaysought to emulate Shinde’s example by jumping onto a dry river bed. He has been admitted to a government hospital in Aurangabad, police said.
Shiv Sena MP Chandrakant Khaire faced the ire of the protestors when he went to attend Shinde’s last rites at his Kaygaon village in Aurangabad on Tuesday.
Khaire was manhandled by the crowd present there and had to beat a hasty retreat, police said, adding that there was stone pelting as well on the MP’S car.
Shinde’s death has triggered a fresh set of protests in several parts of Maharashtra.
Internet services were suspended in rural areas of Aurangabad district to prevent any untoward incident.
At Kaygaon, protesters shouted slogans hailing Shinde as a ‘martyr’, police said.
Sham Atgaonkar, a police constable from Osmanabad who was deployed on duty at Kaygaon, died soon after a commotion, which followed stone pelting, police said. The cause of death is not ascertained yet, police said.
Another constable was injured in stone pelting, police said.
A fire brigade van was also set afire at Kaygaon by the protesters, police said.
“We will continue our agitation until Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis apologises to the Maratha community. We will observe bandh in Aurangabad and other parts of the state today,” Morcha coordinator Ravindra Patil said.
Fadnavis had cancelled his visit to a temple in Pandharpur after protesting Maratha outfits threatened to disrupt the event.
The community leaders have earlier taken out several rallies in various districts to highlight their demands. Last year, a huge rally was organised by the Maratha Kranti Morcha in this connection in Mumbai.