Maratha quota row: Violence, arson in Aurangabad, Pune

Violence and arson erupted in Aurangabad, Pune, Nashik and several parts of Maharashtra as part of a bandh called by Maratha organisations to demand reservations in jobs and education, even as Mumbaikars and their counterparts in the neighbouring Thane, Palghar and Navi Mumbai heaved a sigh of relief  as the bandh passed off peacefully in their respective areas.

While there was absolutely no impact of bandh in Mumbai where normal life was not affected as had been apprehended, the Maratha activists in Thane and Navi Mumbai did not respond in a big way to the bandh call given by Maratha Kranti Morcha (MKM), an organisation that is spearheading the ongoing agitation to demand reservations for their community members in jobs and education.

Much to the discomfort of the code of conduct laid down by the MKM for peaceful conduct of the bandh, its activists indulged in violence and arson in different parts of the State, while the bandh evoked lukewarm response in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), comprising Mumbai, Thane,Navi Mumbai and Palghar.   

The police resorted lathi-charge and burst tear gas shells to quell protesters who attempted to set on fire a police van and two private vehicles, while the Maratha activists blocked Tapovan Express and other trains at Aurangabad railway station.  

The protesters indulged massive stone throwing at a posse of police personnel in Pune’s Chandni chowk locality, prompting the law enforcers to resort to lathi-charge  against the rioting mobs.

After the protesters were dispersed from Chandni chowk locality, they headed to Pune-Bengaluru highway where staged a rasta-roko for a few hours.  The protesters also blocked traffic on the old Pune-Mumbai highway. The traffic blockade continued for nearly six hours. It was only late in the evening that the traffic was resorted on this highway.

The Maratha activists set ablaze bus tyres at Kothurd in Pune, while they went on rampage at the Pune district collector’s office, where they ransacked the security cabin, climbed atop the office and broke the bulbs.