As the Maratha quota stir intensified, agitators clashed with the police and torched vehicles at several places on Tuesday.
Mumbaikars
on Wednesday braced for a Mumbai
bandh after large-scale violence marred a state-wide protest on
Tuesday by Maratha outfits demanding reservations for the community
in Maharashtra, where a constable died and nine other policemen were
injured amid a suicide attempt by three agitators.
As
the stir for reservations in jobs and education intensified, the
Maratha
Kranti Morcha, which is spearheading the agitation, is taking its
battle to Mumbai where it has called for the shutdown. Another
outfit, the Sakal Maratha Samaj, called for a bandh on Wednesday in
Navi Mumbai and Panvel as well.
On
Tuesday, stone-pelting and arson were reported from several parts of
the state, which remained on edge. Agitators clashed with the police
and torched vehicles at several places, while internet services were
suspended in rural areas of Aurangabad district to prevent any
untoward incident. In Jalna, the police fired in the air to scatter
protesters.
The
impact of Tuesday's bandh was more visible in Aurangabad and
adjoining districts in the central region of the state, a day after
the death of a protester.
Quotas
for Marathas, a politically influential community that constitutes
around 30 per cent of the state's population, has been a hugely
contentious issue.
A
constable, deployed near the funeral venue of the protester who
jumped to death on Monday, died. Police said the cause of death is
yet to be ascertained.
"The
postmortem report is awaited. Some injury marks were seen on his
hands and legs," a police official said, adding another
constable there got injured in stone-pelting.
Protester
Kakasaheb Shinde (27) had jumped to death from a bridge over the
Godavari in Aurangabad on Monday.
Shiv
Sena MP Chandrakant Khaire faced the ire of the protesters when he
went to attend his last rites at his Kaygaon village on Tuesday.
Khaire
was manhandled by the crowd and had to beat a hasty retreat, police
said, adding there was stone pelting on his car too.
The
police at the venue caned protesters and lobbed tear gas shells,
Aurangabad SP Arti Singh told PTI. "The situation in Aurangabad
is under control. Police are alert to avert any unwanted incident."
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