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Maratha quota riddled with violence; internet to be shut down

Will it become more violent?

What was a peaceful protest of the Maharashtra community seeking reservations turned violent at a few places in the state on Monday.

According to reports, four cars, five buses, and a police vehicle were burnt in the violence. Later in the day, a 28-year-old Kakasaheb Shinde allegedly attempted suicide by jumping himself in the Godavari river at Aurangabad. The protestor was rescued and rushed to the hospital. However, doctors were unable to save him.

It became more violent in the central Maharashtra in which a police constable died and another sustained injuries.

Several vehicles including those of the police, fire brigade and TV channel vans were torched in Aurangabad, while in some parts of Marathwada the protesters pelted stones to damage the state transport buses.

Maratha community outfits have announced a shutdown in Mumbai, Thane and adjoining areas on Wednesday after a mixed response to its statewide bandh on Tuesday. The community has been protesting for their various demands including reservation in government jobs and education, review of the SC/ST Act, construction of Shivaji statue on Arabian sea and freeships to students for professional courses.

In Aurangabad, the protesters turned violent during the funeral of Shinde. The mob set state transport buses on fire and also heckled local Shiv Sena MP Chandrakant Khaire and Congress MLA Subhash Jhambad, who had come to attend the funeral.

According to police, constable Shyam Padgaonkar, 47, a police constable, died while manning the situation and another constable sustained injuries in reported stone pelting.

READ ALSO: Maharashtra Bandh: State Wide Shut Down Protest Tomorrow

At Aurangabad’s Kranti Chowk, hundreds of protestors gathered who blocked vehicular movement. Schools and colleges remained shut in Aurangabad while shopkeepers preferred to down the shutters. The rural areas remained tense where agitators burnt vehicles and tires and blocked roads.

Two protesters, Jayesh Sonavne, 30, and Jagannath Sonavne, 55, tried to attempt suicide by jumping into the Vel Ganga river and consuming poison respectively. Both were rescued to safety and hospitalized. Jayant has sustained fractured injuries on his leg in the incident.

The shutdown affected all the eight districts of Marathwada region. State transport buses were kept off the roads in the region. Chiranjeev Prasad, the Aurangabad police commissioner, has appealed for peace. “The city area has remained under control barring a few incidents,” he added.

As a precaution, the police authorities have suspended internet services in the city. “Seventy percent force of all the units have been mobilized [in the wake of the Maharashtra bandh call given by the protestors for Wednesday,”additional director general of police (law and order) Bipin Bihari told a leading daily.

In Mumbai, Thane and Navi Mumbai shops, schools and colleges were open and there were no disruptions in public transport. Sakal Maratha Samaj, the umbrella body representing various community organizations has given a call for bandh on Thursday in Mumbai, Thane, and Raigad districts.

The immediate catalyst for the Maratha protests seems to have come after the Maharashtra government announced that the state would hire 72,000 people for government jobs. The community has demanded that the state should not hire people for government jobs till it has been able to sort out its demand for reservations in jobs.

The Maharashtra government in 2014 granted 16% reservation for the Maratha community which was later struck down by Bombay high court, which asked the government to submit documents to prove backwardness of the Maratha community. The community outfits have announced to intensify their protest until demands are met. The outfits also demanded the resignation of chief minister accusing him of failing to meet their demands and blamed him for Shinde’s death.

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