Jat quota stir: Haryana government withdraws paramilitary forces

Chandigarh: With the end of the second phase of Jat stir in Haryana, the state government today decided to withdraw the paramilitary forces from several districts except Sonipat where the forces would continue to be deployed as a precautionary measure. [caption id=“attachment_2850704” align=“alignleft” width=“364”] Second phase of Jat stir came to an end recently after the discussion between state representatives and Jat leaders  ended on a positive note. File image. PTI[/caption] “As normalcy has now returned to the state, there is no need to continue with the deployment of paramilitary forces. Therefore, it has been decided to do away with the forces from the state (which were deployed during the Jat stir in June), except district Sonipat,” an official release quoting Haryana’s Additional Director General of Police (ADGP), Law and Order, Muhammad Akil, said here. Akil was addressing officers of police and paramilitary forces at Bhiwani on Wednesday. He said that the situation remained peaceful in several parts of the state during the Jat reservation agitation which had commenced from 5 June. During this period, behaviour of police, administration and paramilitary forces with the general public remained appreciable and all the three deserve praise for maintaining normalcy, he said. Akil said that it was a challenge for the police to maintain peace and harmony after the call for agitation was given by some organisations. But the police worked with an aim to ensure that peace in the state was not disturbed at any cost, he added. The second phase of Jat stir came to an end recently after the discussion between state government representatives and the Jat leaders spearheading the agitation ended on a positive note. The Jat quota agitation in February had turned violent, in which 30 people lost their lives. Massive damage was caused to property at various places in the state, particularly Rohtak district, which had remained the epicentre of the stir.