Shutdown in Ratnagiri to protest killing in police firing, violence by Shiv Sena activists

MUMBAI: Stray incidents of violence were reported Tuesday from Maharashtra's Ratnagiri district where the Shiv Sena called a shutdown to protest the police firing in which one person was killed while opposing the 9,900 MW Jaitapur nuclear power project, police said.

Some Sena activists pelted stones, shattered the glass of public transport buses and blocked the Ratnagiri-Kolhapur highway by dumping burning tyres on it, police said. In some places, they also deflated tyres of buses and trucks that were attempting to ply.

Konkan Bachao Samiti chief Vaishali Patil said the shutdown was "total and spontaneous".

The entire district - including tourist hotspots like Chiplun, Kelshi, Dapoli and the district headquarter Ratnagiri, besides small villages like Nate, Madhban and Jaitapur as well as the picturesque beaches dotting the coastal district -- wore a deserted look and all shops and establishments remained shut Tuesday.

Police have deployed tight security all over the district and top civil and police officials were present to oversee the arrangements in most places.

In a statement, Konkan Bachao Samiti and Jan Hit Seva Samiti strongly condemned Monday's police firing in Sakhri-Nate village, which led to the death of 30-year-old fisherman Tabrez Pehekar and serious bullet injuries to many others.

"Police opened fire on the protestors without any forewarning. From the injuries sustained by the deceased and the others, it is clear that police did not fire in the air as a warning, but instead directly opened fire into the crowd with the objective of ruthlessly crushing the democratic protest of the local people," Patil told IANS.