The cases were registered between October 24 and October 31. Public property worth nearly Rs 12 crore was damaged in the state during that period, Maharashtra Director General of Police Rajnish Seth said. He said that 168 people accused in the cases have been arrested.
In Sambhaji Nagar, 54 people were booked and 106 were arrested between October 29 and October 31, Seth said. In Beed district, seven were booked under sections of the Indian Penal Code pertaining to an attempt to murder. Prohibitory orders have been implemented and internet service has been temporarily suspended in parts of Beed, he added.
The Maratha community has demanded quotas in education and government jobs for decades, citing a decline in financial stability following agrarian distress. A series of massive protests were organised to press for the demand in 2017 and 2018.
These demands for the Maratha quota resurfaced in recent months with activist Manoj Jarange-Patil launching a fresh agitation for the cause in September. The fresh agitation has witnessed violence, suicides and the resignation of legislators in support of reservations.
#WATCH | Mumbai: Maharashtra DGP Rajnish Seth says, “Demonstrations were held across the state regarding the Maratha reservation…Some demonstrations also turned violent…In Sambhaji Nagar, between Oct 29-31, 54 were booked and 106 were arrested. In Beed, 7 have been booked… pic.twitter.com/UW2bMdTB6P
— ANI (@ANI) November 1, 2023
On Monday, a curfew was imposed in parts of Beed and Dharashiv districts after a series of incidents of violence and arson targeting properties of politicians and legislators, PTI reported.
The house of Nationalist Congress Party leader Prakash Solanke in Beed was set on fire by protestors seeking the Maratha quota, PTI reported, quoting the police. Solanke belongs to the Ajit Pawar faction of the party. The first floor of the Majalgaon Municipal Council building was also set ablaze and vandalised.
A group of protestors even barged into the residential premises and office of Nationalist Congress Party MLA Sandeep Kshirsagar in Beed city and set them on fire. The house of former state minister Jaydutt Kshirsagar was torched and pelted with stones.
A bus of the Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation was torched in Dharashiv district’s Omerga tehsil.
On Wednesday, the Pune Police registered first information reports against nearly 500 activists of the Maratha Kranti Morcha and Sakal Maratha Morcha – outfits supporting the demands for the Maratha quota – for allegedly blocking a stretch of the Mumbai-Bengaluru Highway and setting tyres ablaze, PTI reported, citing unidentified officials.
They were booked on various charges, including causing danger to the lives of others and spreading fear among commuters.
After an all-party meeting on Wednesday, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde said it was decided that quotas should be given to the Marathas without tampering with the reservation of other communities in Maharashtra.
“The all-party meeting also expressed its disappointment over the violent incidents reported in the last few days,” the chief minister said. “Such violent acts would be a blot on the Maratha community’s peaceful and disciplined agitation.”
He also urged Jarange-Patil, who has been on a fast since October 25, to withdraw his hunger strike and give the government some time.
This came a day after the Maharashtra Cabinet accepted a panel’s report that found over seven lakh Marathas eligible for the Kunbi caste certificates. The Kunbis are a sub-caste within the Maratha community who are already classified as Other Backward Classes.
Also read:
Explainer: How a violent agitation for Maratha reservations might end up helping BJP
Why the Maratha quota stir is politically significant in Maharashtra
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