Mumbai: Twenty-six protesters were detained during a jail bharo agitation organised by the Maratha Kranti Morcha, demanding reservation, in the city on Wednesday.
“The protesters had not obtained prior permission, and we gave them ample time before taking them into custody. They were counselled at the police station and let off,” Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone I) Abhishek Trimukhe said.
Rail and road traffic was not affected. Adequate security arrangements have been made in view of the agitation. The additional police bandobast at Azad Maidan since morning was removed around 6 p.m.
“We have lost confidence in Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. His assurances of offering reservation are hollow,” Kedar Shinde, a protester at Azad Maidan, said.
Elsewhere in the State, over 300 protesters were detained. A demonstration was staged outside the residence of Labour Minister Sambhaji Patil-Nilangekar in Latur district. The police said protesters blocked a portion of the Pune-Solapur National Highway in Solapur.
Farmers in Hingoli district of the Marathwada region, which has witnessed most of the aggressive protests in the last 10 days, organised a bullock cart march.
At least 65 protesters were detained in Pune district, a rural police officer said. Pro-quota agitators also organised a rally at Junnar in the district.
At Madha in Solapur district, at least 50 people were detained. Eleven were detained at Pandharpur when they locked the gate of the tehsildar office under a ‘tala-thoko” agitation.
Over 150 protesters were detained at Malegaon in Nashik district and 25 at Ambejogai in Beed district.
In every case, protesters were briefly detained under the Maharashtra Police Act and let off after a reprimand, the police said. The Maratha community constitutes 30% of the State’s 12 crore population. The quota agitation had turned violent in the last 10 days.
(With PTI inputs)