Mumbai: Maratha quota supporters torch municipal council building, target office, home of 2 MLAs

A group of Maratha reservation activists torched the first floor of the Majalgaon Municipal Council building and vandalised it in Maharashtra's Beed district, soon after setting on fire the residence of local NCP MLA Prakash Solanke on Monday, police said.

In a related incident, Maratha quota supporters, armed with wooden sticks, vandalised the office of BJP MLA Prashant Bamb at Gangapur in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar district in central Maharashtra, they said. No casualties were reported in the twin incidents. 

After torching the residence of MLA Solanke, a group of Maratha quota activists went to the Majalgaon Municipal Council building situated off Parali Road and started vandalising it, a senior police official said. 

The incident took place at Majalgaon, more than 400km from Mumbai, at around 1.30 p.m. The group, armed with wooden sticks and stones, damaged the window panes of the building, he said. 

The vandals then went to 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 have started examining the CCTV footage of the area to identify the persons involved in torching the municipal council building and the process was on to register an offence against them, he said. 

In the second incident at Gangapur in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar district, two persons were detained after a group of Maratha quota supporters damaged window panes and furniture inside the office of BJP MLA Bamb, the police said. 

The violence and arson have taken place at a time when quota activist Manoj Jarange is on an indefinite fast since October 25 at Antarwali Sarati village in Jalna district as part of the second phase of the agitation demanding reservation for the Maratha community.