Farmer allegedly commits suicide before Maratha reservation protest

Jagannath Sonawane, a farmer by profession, attempted suicide on Tuesday, during the Maratha reservation protest, and was declared dead on Wednesday. Sonawane, a resident of Deogaon Rangari village in Gangapur tehsil of Aurangabad district, had allegedly consumed poison early on Tuesday morning, when the agitation was being held.

Another protestor, Jayant Sonawane,also attempted suicide on Tuesday by jumping into a river but is in a stable condition and is undergoing treatment at the hospital. On Monday, a 28-year-old Maratha youth Kakasaheb Dattatraya Shinde died after jumping into the Godavari river from a bridge in Kaygaon Toka village in Gangapur tehsil of Aurangabad due to which the agitation took as violent turn.

We demand that he be declared a martyr, his family be given compensation of Rs 50 Lakh, his brother be given a govt job & action be taken against local admn. We won’t collect his body or perform his last rites until & unless our demands are met: Maratha Kranti Morcha #Maharashtra pic.twitter.com/BVB30nbEDh

— ANI (@ANI) July 23, 2018

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The Maratha community had been protesting across Maharashtra demanding reservation in government jobs and education since two days but the fury died down yesterday as the protestors decided to call off the protest. On Wednesday, the Maratha Kranti Morcha workers allegedly set several vehicles on fire and also vandalised public buses in Navi Mumbai’s Ghansoli and Thane’s Wagle Estate causing disruption in bus services and ruckus among people who braved the protests to reach their destinations. A local train was also blocked by protestors in Thane.

Mumbai: A group of Maratha Kranti Morcha workers request with folded hands, the shopkeepers in Bandra to shut their shops. #MaharashtraBandh pic.twitter.com/zVcHM6b3WV

— ANI (@ANI) July 25, 2018

A Maratha Kranti Morcha worker informed ANI that they asked their workers to not cause any inconvenience to the police or government.

We are not blocking any road. We are carrying out a peaceful protest. We have told our workers that there should be no inconvenience to the police or govt due to our protest. We are asking people to shut down their shops: Maratha Kranti Morcha #MaharashtraBandh pic.twitter.com/mM38GDTQby

— ANI (@ANI) July 25, 2018

Meanwhile, NCP MLA from Vaijaapur constituency (Aurangabad), has offered his resignation to Vidhan Sabha speaker over mail while citing the reason for his resignation to be the Maratha Reservation Issue.

Maharashtra: Bhausaheb Patil Chikatgaonkar, NCP MLA from Vaijaapur constituency (Aurangabad), has offered his resignation to Vidhan Sabha speaker over mail over #MarathaReservation issue. He will handover the hard copy to Vidhan Sabha speaker tomorrow evening.

— ANI (@ANI) July 25, 2018

Also Read: Maratha Kranti Morcha: Protest overtaken by mobs in Nalasopara