Maharashtra on boil over quota stir; Mumbai bandh today

Largescale violence marred a statewide protest on Tuesday by Maratha outfits demanding reservation for the community in Maharashtra where a constable died and nine other policemen were injured amid suicide attempt by three agitatorsStonepelting and arson were reported from several parts of the state which remained on edge on Tuesday and braced for a Mumbai bandh on Wednesday Agitators clashed with the police and torched vehicles at several places while Internet services were suspended in rural areas of Aurangabad district to prevent any untoward incident In Jalna the police fired in the air to scatter protestersAs the stir for reservation in jobs and education intensified the Maratha Kranti Morcha which is spearheading the agitation is taking its battle to Mumbai where it has called for the shutdown Another outfit the Sakal Maratha Samaj called for a bandh on Wednesday in Navi Mumbai and Panvel as well The impact of Tuesdays bandh was more visible in Aurangabad and adjoining districts in the central region of the state a day after the death of a protesterQuotas for Marathas a politically influential community that constitutes around 30 per cent of the states population has been a hugely contentious issueA constable deployed near the funeral venue of the protester who jumped to death yesterday died Police said the cause of death is yet to be ascertained The postmortem report is awaited Some injury marks were seen on his hands and legs a police official said adding another constable there got injured in stonepeltingProtester Kakasaheb Shinde 27 had jumped to death from a bridge over the Godavari in Aurangabad on MondayShiv Sena MP Chandrakant Khaire faced the ire of the protesters when he went to attend his last rites at his Kaygaon village on TuesdayKhaire was manhandled by the crowd and had to beat a hasty retreat police said adding there was stone pelting on his car tooThe police at the venue caned protesters and lobbed tear gas shells Aurangabad SP Arti Singh told PTI The situation in Aurangabad is under control Police are alert to avert any unwanted incident Eight policemen including two officer were hurt after protesters threw stones at the Ghansangvi police station police said A fire brigade van was also set ablaze at KaygaonJalna SP Ramnath Pokale said agitators pelted stones at a tehsil office To disperse the violent mob we fired in the air and lobbed tear gas shells he said adding the police were trying to arrest those involved in the violence The situation is now under control and additional State RPF personnel have been sent Pokale said Protesters also threw stones on a HyderabadLatur bus in Nilanga tehsil in LaturThe Aurangabad Municipal Corporation general body meeting today decided to give a compensation of Rs 10 lakh to Shindes kin A resolution seeking 16 percent quota for the Marathas in jobs and education was also approved thereIn Sangli Revenue Minister Chandrakant Patil said the government has done whatever was within its ambit and now it was up to the courts to take a call on the issue Some paid people have infiltrated the stir he saidProtester Jagannath Sonawane 31 from Aurangabad sought to emulate Shindes example by jumping onto a dry river bed while another Guddu Sonawane also from the district consumed poison They have been admitted to a hospital police saidIn Thane activist Mangesh Suryavanshi 38 jumped into a creek near the Ganesh Ghat but was saved by police and others Thane Police PRO Sukhada Narkar said He received minor injuries and was admitted to a hospitalIn Nanded police canecharged protesters to disperse them an official saidAt Kaygaon Aurangabad protesters shouted slogans hailing Shinde as a martyr police saidPune saw sporadic incidents of stone pelting Some people threw stones at an administrative building in Baramati and a state transport bus was attacked ASP Sandip Pakhale said Maratha Kranti Morcha members took out a rally in PuneOur members took out a rally in Pune and traders kept their shops closed in Deccan Laxmi Road and Bajirao Road areas of the city said Shantaram Kunjir a convener of the morchaThe bandh received a lukewarm response in Yavatmal and Amravati In Yavatmal the bandh call was given by the Maratha Mahasangh In Amravati activists paid homage to Shinde at Rajkamal Square They later marched to the Kotwali Police Station and submitted a memorandum addressed to the CM The bandh received a mixed response in Ahmednagar and Nashik districtsIn Nashik district activists staged a rasta roko on the MumbaiAgra National Highway The Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation suspended its services to Aurangabad from Nashik an official saidProtesters burnt tyres at Sakora in Nandgaon taluka of Nashik affecting traffic the Rural Police Control said The leader of Opposition in the Assembly Radhakrishna VikhePatil blamed CM Devendra Fadnavis for the stir taking a violent turn and demanded his resignationFadnavis had cancelled his visit to a temple in Pandharpur protesters threatened to disrupt the event Despite assurances from Fadnavis nothing concrete has been done till now community leaders have claimed We will continue our agitation until the CM apologises to the Maratha community for alleging that some members from the community were planning violence at Pandharpur Morcha coordinator Ravindra Patil saidCatch up on all the latest Crime National International and Hatke news here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updatesThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever