Maratha reservation: After death of youth, Maratha group calls for state-wide shutdown

Kakasaheb Shinde who was a resident of Kaygaon village in Aurangabad district jumped off a bridge over Godavari river.

Image: abpnews.abplive.in

Aurangabad: The agitation by Maratha community for reservation in government jobs and education on Monday took a tragic turn after a 27-year-old protester jumped to his death in Godavari river. Kakasaheb Shinde who was a resident of Kaygaon village in Aurangabad district jumped off a bridge over Godavari river. He will today be criminated today at around 10 am. The Maratha outfit Kranti Morcha has called for a Maharashtra bandh on Tuesday but kept Mumbai, Pune, Solapur and Satara out of so no problem is caused to the devotees returning from Pandharpur. Mumbai will be closed on Wednesday. The state-run buses will not be operating in Aurangabad today. The incident came a day after Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said he was cancelling his visit to a temple in Pandharpur after protesting Maratha outfits threatened to disrupt the event. It is to be noted that Members of the Maratha community have been demanding 16 per cent quota under OBC category in government jobs and education. Marathas have been organising protest rallies since last year to push for their demand. The matter is currently pending before the Bombay high court. Congress MLA Nitesh Rane blamed the Fadnavis government for the death of the protester, while NCP leader Sunil Tatkare said Shinde's death should help serve as a warning to all concerned to handle the stir with caution. The community leaders had earlier taken out several rallies in various districts to highlight their demands. Last year, a huge rally was organised by the Maratha Kranti Morcha in this connection in Mumbai. In the last few days, protests have taken place in Buldhana, Akola, Parali, Washim and even in Mumbai. (with additional inputs from agencies)