Maratha quota stir: Pune suspends internet services to prevent rumour-mongering and violence

Pune: Internet services were suspended in Maharashtra’s Pune district on Thursday to prevent rumour-mongering in view of the Maratha quota agitation, police said. Superintendent of Police (SP) Sandip Patil told PTI the Internet services were temporarily suspended in Baramati, Shirur, Khed, Junnar, Maval, Bhor and Daund rural tehsils of the district. The step was taken to prevent any untoward incident after violent protests were witnessed during the Maratha community’s protest for reservation in July, he said. [caption id=“attachment_4924671” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. PTI[/caption] Chakan, an industrial hub located in Khed tehsil, witnessed large-scale violence during the Maratha quota agitation on 30 July, when around 70 buses were torched and damaged in the area. Patil said there was no information of any untoward incident in the district so far. The agitators held a sit-in protest outside the residence of Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar in Baramati on Thursday. The Sakal Maratha Samaj, an umbrella body of Maratha groups, has called for a “bandh” on Thursday across Maharashtra, except Navi Mumbai, over the community’s demand for reservation in government jobs and education. Over 7,000 police personnel have been deployed in the city, along with some companies of the State Reserve Police Force and Rapid Action Force, to maintain law and order, Pune Commissioner of Police Venkatesham K said. He added that the pro-reservation Maratha groups had earlier said they would stage peaceful protests at the collector’s office. The police official urged the citizens to carry on with their daily routine. Fearing violence during the bandh, Pune Collector Naval Kishore Ram issued an order on Wednesday that schools and colleges will remain shut on Thursday. A release issued by the collectorate earlier had said 70 to 80 vehicles were torched and damaged in the Chakan area during the violence on 30 July. “Two school buses were also torched and the lives of students were endangered,” it had said. “Even if there is no untoward incident during the protest, roads might be blocked and we do not want students to be inconvenienced and parents to be anxious unnecessarily,” the collector said. In view of the bandh, a majority of the commercial units in the Chakan industrial area have also decided to remain closed today. “There are over 1,000 companies in the Chakan MIDC area and a majority of them have decided to keep their plants shut,” Chakan police station’s senior inspector Santosh Girigosavi had said on Wednesday.