Maratha Reservation Stir: 49 Arrested, Curfew In Beed After Violence

New Delhi: An official said on Tuesday that police have nabbed 49 people for their involvement in the violence that erupted in Beed district of Maharashtra during the Maratha reservation agitation, news agency PTI reported. The local administration imposed a curfew in parts of Beed district on Monday evening after several incidents of violence and arson aimed at politicians’ properties. Beed Superintendent of Police Nandkumar Thakur told PTI that the situation is now under control.

He said, “We have registered offences for rioting and endangering lives in relation to the incidents. We have arrested 49 agitators so far. There was no trouble at night, and the situation is under control.” The official said that extra police force has been sent to the district to ensure law and order.

Another official said that according to the order issued by Beed Collector Deepa Mudhol Munde, the curfew covers a radius of 5 kilometres from the collector office, taluka headquarters and all national highways passing through the district. Police earlier said that on Monday morning, a group of quota protesters set fire to and threw stones at the residence of NCP (Ajit Pawar group) MLA Prakash Solanke at Majalgaon town in Beed district.

The group also torched a car parked at Solanke’s residence after an audio clip of the MLA, in which he allegedly talked about the Maratha quota stir and made a veiled remark on the fasting quota activist Manoj Jarange, became viral. After the attack on the legislator’s house, a group of Maratha reservation protesters left from there and later burned down and damaged the first floor of the Majalgaon Municipal Council building.

A group of Maratha quota protesters stormed into the residential and office premises of NCP MLA Sandeep Kshirsagar in Beed city and set them ablaze on Monday evening. In another incident, protesters set fire to and stoned the residence of former state minister Jaydutt Kshirsagar in Beed city. A crowd of Maratha protesters also assembled outside the residence of NCP (Ajit pawar faction) leader Amarsingh Pandit and police used tear-gas shells to scatter them.

The violence and arson coincided with Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange’s ongoing indefinite hunger strike at Antarwali Sarati village in Jalna district since October 25 in support of the reservation demand. Maratha community members have been holding protests in various parts of the state demanding reservation in government jobs and education under the OBC category.

Manoj Jarange Speaks To CM Shinde

Manoj Jarange Patil, who has been on hunger strike for seven days in Jalna district’s Antarwali Sarati, spoke to Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on phone. The conversation lasted for about 24 minutes but Manoj Jarange is adamant on his demands.

Congress MLA Resigns Over Maratha Agitation

Meanwhile, Suresh Varapudkar, Congress MLA from Pathri assembly seat in Parbhani district of Maharashtra, submitted his resignation to the assembly speaker. Suresh Varapudkar, Congress MLA from Pathri assembly seat in Parbhani, resigned from the assembly speaker yesterday over the reservation for Maratha, Dhangar and Muslim communities.