Internet services closed in three districts of Maharashtra

Mumbai : Internet services were suspended on Monday in Jalna, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar and Beed districts of Maharashtra to maintain law and order in view of the ongoing agitation led by activist Manoj Jarange demanding reservation for the Maratha community. Officials gave this information on Monday. Officials said that the borders of these districts have also been sealed as a precautionary measure. Internet services have been suspended from 6 am to 4 pm in the three districts to avoid any untoward incident in view of the spread of rumors on social media platforms, an official said citing an order of the state home department. . Another official said three cases have been registered in Beed district for protesting without permission and two people have been arrested for damaging a state transport bus.
Earlier, curfew has been imposed in Ambad taluka of Jalna district of Maharashtra in view of the law and order situation in view of the movement for Maratha reservation being run by Jarange. Jalna District Magistrate Shri Krishna Panchal said in the order that Jarange announced on Sunday that he would go to Mumbai and agitate with his demand for reservation for the Maratha community. It said that there is a fear that people may come to Antarwali Sarti village of Jalna, where the workers are on hunger strike, to stop them (from going to Mumbai). The order said that due to heavy crowd, traffic on Dhule-Mumbai highway and other surrounding areas is likely to be affected. It has been said in the order that this may disturb peace and law and order, hence curfew has been imposed by the District Magistrate in Ambad Taluka under Section 144 (2) of CrPC from Monday midnight till further orders.
The Maharashtra Legislature had unanimously passed a bill providing 10 per cent reservation for Marathas in education and government jobs under a separate category during a one-day special session last Tuesday, but Jarange has been included in the list of the community under the Other Backward Class (OBC) category. They are adamant on their demand of converting the notification into law for reservation and ‘kin’ of Marathas.