Karnataka bus set on fire as Maratha quota protest turns violent in Jalna

A Karnataka government’s bus, carrying 45 passengers, was one of six buses set on fire during the Maratha community’s agitation for reservation in the Jalna district of Maharashtra. The Karnataka bus, heading back to Hubballi in Karnataka from Aurangabad in Maharashtra, was halted by the agitators who forced passengers and the crew to disembark before setting the bus ablaze and pelting it with stones. “Our bus was following a Maharashtra bus bound for Lathur when both vehicles were stopped. Passengers were made to alight, and then the buses were torched. A mob of about 200-300 individuals who stopped our bus threatened to set us and the bus on fire if we didn’t comply with their demands. This compelled us to follow their instructions to protect our lives,” bus driver LL Lamani, hailing from Ramdurga area of Belagavi, said.

In a bid to secure reservations in education and employment for the Maratha community, Manoj Jarange from Antarwali Sarati taluk in Jalna district went on indefinite fasting on August 29. People from approximately 150 villages, including 130 along the banks of the Godavari river in Bid district, conducted a rally on Friday evening in the support of Jarange’s protest.As Jarange’s health deteriorated, Maharashtra chief minister Eknath Shinde, on Friday, reached out and appealed him to end the fast, but got no response. “Trouble escalated when the police attempted to forcibly take Jarange to the hospital, resulting in physical altercations and injuries to both civilians and the police,” said an official in the know of the development.

Ganesh Rathod, senior divisional controller of North West Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (NWKSRTC) in Belagavi, said that passengers from the torched bus were relocated to safer locations using other buses of Maharashtra government and subsequently transferred to Karnataka state buses. “The department is in constant communication with its Maharashtra counterpart, about the safety of all Karnataka buses operating in Maharashtra. However, bus services to Aurangabad and Jalna districts have temporarily been halted,” he said.