Beed: A group of rampaging Maratha reservation activists torched the Majalgaon Municipal Council office building and also vandalised it in Maharashtra's Beed district on Monday. Thousands of protesters had gathered outside the Majalgaon Municipal Council office building. They entered the building raising slogans and set it on fire. Following the incident, a large contingent of police force was deployed in violence-hit areas of Majalgaon city.
Earlier, the protesters had also set on fire the residence of local NCP MLA Prakash Solanke. Maratha quota supporters, armed with wooden sticks, vandalised the office of BJP MLA Prashant Bamb at Gangapur in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar district in central Maharashtra. No casualties were reported in the twin incidents.
After torching the residence of MLA Solanke, a group of Maratha quota activists, went to the Majalgaon Municipal Council building situated off Parali Road and started vandalising it, the police said. The incident took place at Majalgaon, more than 400km from Mumbai, at around 1.30 p.m.
The group, armed with wooden sticks and stones, damaged the window panes of the building. The vandals went to the first floor of the building and torched it, burning the furniture there. Fire brigade personnel rushed to the spot and doused the flames. No casualties have been reported.
The police started examining the CCTV footage of the area to identify the persons involved in torching the municipal council building and the process was on to register an offence against them. In the second incident at Gangapur in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar district, two persons were detained after a group of Maratha quota supporters damaged window panes and furniture inside the office of BJP MLA Prashant Bamb.
The violence and arson have taken place at a time when quota activist Manoj Jarange has been on an indefinite fast since October 25 at Antarwali Sarati village in Jalna district as part of the second phase of the agitation demanding reservation for the Maratha community.
It may be recalled that protesters set on fire the residence and office of NCP MLA Sandeep Kshirsagar. This came soon after Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) MLA Prakash Solanke's car and residence in Maharashtra's Beed district were set on fire and stones were hurled at it on Monday amid fresh violence over the demand for Maratha quota. (With agency inputs)
Also read: NCP MLA's house, car torched in Maharashtra as protest for Maratha quota turns violent
