Maratha quota stir: 141 offences registered, 168 held so far, says Maharashtra DGP

Maharashtra Police has registered 141 cases in connection with the violence during the Maratha quota agitations and arrested 168 persons, state Director General of Police Rajnish Seth said on Wednesday. He said public properties worth Rs 12 crore were damaged by miscreants across the state.

"Notices have been served to 146 accused persons under section 41 in the CrPC," Seth told media persons at the state police headquarters in south Mumbai.

Against the backdrop of incidents of arson and vandalism targeting properties of some MLAs, mainly in Marathwada region, state Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Tuesday said agitators who tried to burn down a house in Beed district with family members inside will face attempt to murder charges.


The government has taken serious note of these incidents and the miscreants will face strict action, he had said.

Nationalist Congress Party MLAs Prakash Solanke and Sandeep Kshirsagar faced the ire of quota protesters who torched their houses in Beed district. The office of a legislator from the ruling BJP was vandalised by protesters in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar district, police had said.

The first floor of the municipal council building in Majalgaon town in Beed district was set on fire and stones were hurled at it by a group of quota agitators on Monday.

Maratha community members have launched a fresh round of agitation seeking a quota in government jobs and educational institutes. Quota activist Manoj Jarange has been on an indefinite fast at a village in Jalna district since October 25 in support of the reservation demand.