Sharad Pawar to visit Jalna after Maratha quota agitation turns violent

On Saturday, the situation was under control and the police had filed a case against more than 360 people, of whom 16 have been identified, for their alleged involvement in violence, a day after a Maratha quota protest in Maharashtra's Jalna descended into violence, injuring some police officers and other people.

Meanwhile, an official said that Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) supremo Sharad Pawar is scheduled to visit Antarwali Sarathi village post-noon on Saturday. He will arrive in Aurangabad and then go to the village. He will also visit the sub-district hospital in Ambad and a primary health centre.

Police used baton-charge and fired teargas shells to disperse a violent mob at Antarwali Sarathi village on Dhule-Solapur road in Ambad tehsil, around 75 km from Aurangabad, on Friday. The protesters, led by Manoj Jarange, had been staging a hunger strike demanding reservation for the Maratha community at the village since Tuesday. The trouble began when police tried to shift Jarange to a hospital on doctors' advice, officials said.

The agitation turned violent as some persons targeted state transport buses and private vehicles, police said. Villagers claimed that police fired some rounds in the air, but officials did not confirm it. According to police, around 40 police personnel and some other persons were injured in the violence. The protesters torched at least 15 state transport buses and some private vehicles, they said. An offence was registered at Gondi police station in Jalna against 16 agitators, who have been identified, and around 350 others for their involvement in violence on Friday, a senior police official said.