In connection with the recent violence during the Maratha reservation protests in Maharashtra’s Beed district, the police have arrested 49 individuals, according to an official statement made on Tuesday. The disturbances in Beed prompted the imposition of a curfew in certain areas on Monday evening after a series of incidents involving violence and arson directed at the properties of politicians.
The situation is currently reported to be under control, as per Beed Superintendent of Police, Nandkumar Thakur. Cases of rioting and endangering lives have been registered in connection with the incidents. The curfew, which was put in place according to an order issued by Beed Collector Deepa Mudhol Munde, encompasses an area within a 5-kilometer radius from the collector’s office, the head offices of talukas, and all national highways traversing the district.
The violence included the setting on fire of the residence of NCP (Ajit Pawar group) MLA Prakash Solanke in Majalgaon town. His home was also targeted with stones after an audio clip of the MLA, in which he made comments related to the Maratha quota agitation and a veiled reference to the fasting quota activist Manoj Jarange, went viral. Furthermore, the first floor of the Majalgaon Municipal Council building was set on fire and vandalized by the Maratha reservation activists. They also entered the residential premises and office of NCP MLA Sandeep Kshirsagar in Beed city, setting them ablaze. In another incident, the residence of former state minister Jaydutt Kshirsagar was torched and subjected to stone-pelting by protesters.
The violent incidents occurred simultaneously with Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange’s ongoing indefinite hunger strike in Antarwali Sarati village in Jalna district, which commenced on October 25 in support of the reservation demand. The Maratha community members have been conducting protests in various parts of the state, seeking reservations in government jobs and educational opportunities under the OBC category. The deployment of additional police forces was noted in the district to maintain law and order in the midst of these protests and acts of violence.
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