The Maratha quota stir in Maharashtra intensified on Tuesday as another person committed suicide in Beed and eight protesters attempted self-immolation in Latur district.
The man has been identified as Abhijeet Deshmukh, a resident of Veeda village in Kej Tehsi of Beed district, hanged himself from a tree near his house. This is the fifth suicide in the state over Maratha reservation issue.
In a suicide note, Deshmukh said that he is taking this extreme step in support of Maratha reservation demand. A police official said that the note also mentioned other reasons for his suicide, like unemployment and unpaid bank loan.
in Latur, eight protesters attempted self-immolation by pouring kerosene in support of Maratha reservation.
Speaking to PTI, Latur Superintendent of Police Shivaji Rathod said, "In the self-immolation attempt, held outside the tehsildar office at Ausa in Latur district, eight protesters poured kerosene on themselves and attempted suicide but police intervened before they could do so."
The protesters were taken into custody. "After convincing them to take up their demands with the government, we allowed them to go," he added.
On Monday, the agitation by Marathas for job quota saw one more man committing suicide and protesters resorting to violence and arson at separate places in the state. Four police officials were injured in stone pelting, while nearly 70 vehicles, including state and civic-run buses and those of police, were damaged or torched during the violence in Chakan near Pune.
Police have registered a case against nearly 5,000 unidentified persons in connection with the Monday's violence. Police are also suspecting that the violence was a pre-planned conspiracy.
A senior police officer who is part of the investigation said, "The preliminary investigation has revealed that the miscreants were equipped with inflammatory materials with the help of which they set vehicles on fire. They were also carrying some sharp weapons which suggest that the violence was a pre-planned conspiracy."
Yesterday, after posting a message on Facebook, the man ended his life over quota demand. Pramod Jaising Hore, had posted a message on his Facebook page and shared a message on WhatsApp saying he would be ending his life in support of the reservation demand.
On Sunday, 38-year-old Kacharu Kalyane hanged himself from the ceiling at his home in Dhabad village of Nanded over the Maratha community's demand for reservation.
Last week, two men in Aurangabad district committed suicide over demand for the quota, while another protester, injured in the Maratha stir violence in Navi Mumbai, died at a Mumbai hospital on July 26.
Meanwhile, a press note issued by the Maratha Kranti Morcha, the community is organising a 'Jail Bharo Andolan' for their major demands. The protest will take place at Azad Maidan in Mumbai.
The legislators of the opposition Congress said they were willing to quit their seats in the legislature to step up pressure on the BJP-led state government.
Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray has appealed Maratha protestors not to indulge in any violence as the agitation for quota saw one more man committing suicide and protesters resorting to violence and arson.
On July 27, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had invited party leaders of both the Houses for a meeting in Vidhan Sabha to discuss the ongoing Maratha stir. He had earlier chaired a meeting with BJP ministers and party legislators from the Maratha community to discuss the issue.
The politically influential Maratha community, constituting around 30% of the state's population, has been agitating to press its demand for reservation in jobs and education.
(With agency inputs)
