Sambhajinagar, Oct 30: The ongoing agitation seeking reservation for the Maratha community descended into violence and arson on Monday as quota protesters torched, vandalised homes or offices of three MLAs, targeted a municipal council building and disrupted road traffic in Maharashtra, police said.
Homes of two Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) MLAs were set ablaze, while the office of another legislator from the ruling BJP was vandalised by protesters, they said, adding no casualties were reported.
The incidents of violence and arson were reported from central Maharashtra’s Beed and Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar districts even as Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange continued his indefinite fast in support of the reservation demand at a village in Jalna district.
His condition worsened on the 6th day of the fast when he collapsed on the stage, prompting those present at the site to rush to his aid. On their request, he took a few sips of water. Amid the unrest, Jarange appealed for peace and said violent incidents will tarnish the image of their protest.
The residence of NCP MLA Solanke at Majalgaon town in Beed district was set on fire and stones were hurled at it by a group of quota agitators late in the morning, police said.
The group also set ablaze a car parked at the residence of Solanke after an audio clip of the MLA, in which he purportedly spoke about the Maratha quota agitation and made a veiled comment on the fasting quota activist Jarange, went viral.
It is not clear whether the Majalgaon MLA, who belongs to the NCP faction led by Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, was present inside the residence at the time of the incident which occurred at around 11 am.
“The incident occurred after an audio clip of MLA Solanke about the Maratha reservation issue went viral. A bandh was called locally. The house of the MLA and a car were torched by some people and stones were also hurled,” an official told PTI.
“The person, who has not even contested a gram panchayat election, has become a smart person today,” he said in an apparent dig at Jarange.
Solanke told a news channel he was in Majalgaon when the incident occurred.
“Agitators surrounded my residence from all sides and nobody was in the mood to listen. Stones were thrown at my house and vehicles were also set on fire. I stand with the demand for the Maratha reservation. I have won the elections four times with the help of the Maratha community and I am a Maratha MLA,” he said.
After the arson at the legislator’s home, a group of Maratha reservation activists dispersed from there and later set ablaze the first floor of the Majalgaon Municipal Council building and vandalised it, another police official said.
The group, armed with wooden sticks and stones, first damaged the window panes of the building.
The vandals them went on the first floor of the building and torched it, burning down the furniture there, said the official.
Fire brigade personnel rushed to the spot and doused the flames, he said, adding there were no casualties.
Police are scanning the CCTV footage of the area to identify the persons involved in torching the municipal council building and process was on to register an offence against them, he said.
Meanwhile, a group of Maratha quota activists barged into the residential premises and office of NCP MLA Sandeep Kshirsagar in Beed city and set them on fire in the evening, another official said.
The activist expressed concern over the recent incidents of violence and arson, emphasizing that such actions tarnish the image of their protest. (PTI)
