A 25-year-old man reportedly took his own life in Hingoli district, Maharashtra, on Thursday. He left a note behind, in which he attributed his extreme decision to the ongoing agitation for Maratha community reservation in employment and education, as stated by a police official.
Krishna Kalyankar hanged himself from a tree in his farm in Akhada Balapur village in the morning, he said. Kalyankar came to his farm at around 7 am and the police were informed about his suicide at 9.30 am, said the official. We found a suicide note in his pocket. In the note, it was written I am committing suicide due to Maratha reservation, he told PTI.
A police team reached the suicide spot and sent the body to a government hospital for post-mortem examination, added the official. In the last few months, there have been multiple reports of Maratha community members committing suicide in different parts of the state in support of quota demand.
In a fresh around of agitation, Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange on Wednesday morning started another hunger strike seeking reservation for his community in jobs and education under the OBC category. Jarange (40) launched his indefinite fast at Antarwali Sarati village in Jalna district as the 40-day “deadline” he had set before the Maharashtra government to provide reservation to the community came to an end on October 24.