Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange Patil, others booked for illegal protests

Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange Patil and others were booked after his supporters staged protests without permission and blocked roads at two different locations in Maharashtra's Beed district.

Though Patil was not present, the police named him in the case because the protesters launched the agitation on his appeal, an official told PTI news agency.

About 80 people were booked for unlawful assembly, disobedience to an order lawfully promulgated by a public servant, wrongful restraint, and section 135 of the Maharashtra Police Act.

The protests were held on Saturday at Jatnandur Phata in Shirur village and on Beed-Ahmed Nagar Road in Patoda in Beed district wherein slogans were raised against the state government and roads were blocked, the official was quoted by PTI as saying.

The demonstrations were staged without the necessary permission from authorities and in violation of prohibitory orders issued by the Beed district collector, he said.

"As the agitations were held on the appeal made by Jarange, his name is also included as an accused along with others," the official said.

Meanwhile, the Maratha activist ended his hunger strike after 17 days over health issues.

"I will undergo treatment for a few days, after which I will set out for a statewide tour,” Jarange told reporters in Antarwali Sarati. It was the 17th day of his hunger strike for Maratha reservation.

He said that he would continue with his protest in the form of a relay agitation until the state government agrees to the demands of the Maratha community.

“I am going to continue the agitation until the demands of the Maratha community are met by the government. The clause pertaining to inclusion of sage soyare (relatives) will have to be included,” he said.

Patil has been demanding the implementation of a draft notification issued by the Maharashtra government last month for issuing certificates to blood relatives of eligible Kunbi Marathas.

The Kunbi (agricultural community) falls under the Other Backward Classes (OBC) category.

Jarange has been demanding the issuance of Kunbi certificates to "sage soyre" or blood relatives of Kunbi Marathas and a quota for the Maratha community under the OBC grouping.

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