Maratha quota violence: Who ordered lathi-charge on protesters in Jalna, asks Sanjay Raut
Mumbai (PTI): Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut on Monday sought to know who ordered the lathi-charge on protesters demanding Maratha quota in Maharashtra's Jalna district last week.
Police baton charged and lobbed tear gas shells to disperse a violent mob in Antarwali Sarathi village in Jalna district on Friday after protesters allegedly refused to let authorities shift a man on hunger strike for Maratha quota to hospital.
Several persons. including 40 police personnel, were injured and more than 15 state transport buses were set ablaze in violence.
Speaking to reporters, Raut asked, "Who made a call from the office of chief minister and state home minister without an order from top officials? The local police will never resort to lathi-charge and open fire. We want to know who gave those invisible orders over a phone call."
"Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and the two deputy CMs Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar are working with the mindset of General Dyer. They ordered lathi-charge and firing on the Maratha protesters who were sitting on hunger strike peacefully," the Rajya Sabha member alleged.
In April 1919, the massacre at Jallianwala Bagh in Amritsar took place during the Baisakhi festival when the British Indian Army under the command of Colonel Reginald Dyer opened fire at a crowd staging a pro-independence demonstration, leaving scores of people dead.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Sunday announced that Jalna district superintendent of police, Tushar Doshi, has been sent on compulsory leave and two DYSP-rank officers transferred out of the district.
Shinde said ADGP (law and order) Sanjay Saxena would probe the lathi-charge incident and if required, a judicial probe would be conducted.
Raut while talking to reporters also claimed that Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Ajit Pawar's decision to join the state government has resulted in several corruption charges being dropped against him.
"Not only Pawar, but his other colleagues such as Praful Patel, Hasan Mushrif among others will also get a clean chit. All these leaders were probed by the Enforcement Directorate officials for various charges of corruption," he said.
Ajit Pawar and eight others NCP MLAs joined the Shinde-Fadnavis government on July 2.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Fire breaks out in residential building in east Delhi, nine killed
New Delhi (PTI): At least nine people were killed after a fire broke out in a residential building in east Delhi's Vivek Vihar early Sunday, officials said.
The incident was reported around 3.48 am at a four-storey building in Vivek Vihar Phase-I, following which police, fire and disaster management teams rushed to the spot.
According to the police, the blaze engulfed flats on the second, third and fourth floors of the building, prompting a large-scale rescue operation.
The cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained.
"Around 10 to 15 people were rescued from the premises during the firefighting operation. Two of them, who sustained minor injuries, were shifted to the Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital," a senior police officer said.
A total of 12 fire tenders were pressed into service to douse the flames, while teams from the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA), traffic police and local police assisted in the rescue and evacuation efforts.
Police said the fire was brought under control after several hours.
The identities of the deceased are yet to be ascertained, and efforts are underway to determine the cause of the fire, police said.
Further investigation and proceedings are underway.
