Maratha quota stir: Man preparing for civil services ends life over reservation demand in Maharashtra's Aurangabad

Aurangabad: A 35-year-old man allegedly committed suicide by jumping in front of a moving train over the Maratha quota demand, police said on Monday. The man, identified as Pramod Jaising Hore, had posted a message on his Facebook page and shared a message on WhatsApp on Sunday, saying he would be ending his life in support of the reservation demand, Mukundwadi police station’s Senior Inspector Natha Jadhav told PTI. [caption id=“attachment_3913733” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Representational image. PTI[/caption] Hore allegedly jumped before the running train in Mukundwadi area in Aurangabad in central Maharashtra late Sunday night, he said. In his message on Facebook, the man had said in Marathi, “Chala aaj ek Maratha jaatoy, pan kahi tari Maratha arakshanasathi kara, jai jijau-aapla Pramod Patil (today one Maratha is leaving… but do something for the Maratha reservation… ),” a police official said. The man, who was preparing for the Maharashtra Public Service Commission exams, later posted another message, saying “Maratha reservation will claim one life”, he said. Many of Hore’s friends had requested him not to take the extreme step but he did not pay heed. His body was found on the railway tracks this morning, the official said. On learning about his suicide, a large number of people gathered outside his house. His family members said they will not take possession of the body till the state government takes a final decision on the issue of reservation, over which the Maratha community has been agitating. The man used to run a shop in Mukundwadi and his wife was working as ‘gram sevika’ (a village-level functionary), Jadhav said. Meanwhile, pro-reservation activists staged a ‘rasta roko’ (road blockade) on the Jalna Road today to press for their demands. Three protesters had died in the last one week during the ongoing agitation by the Maratha community, which is seeking 16 percent quota in government jobs and education. The politically influential community constitutes around 30 percent of the state’s population. The community had earlier taken out silent marches across the state to highlight their demands, prominent among them being that of reservation. However, their latest round of agitation has taken a violent turn.