Maratha outfit calls for 'bandh' in Thane on Sept 11 to condemn police lathi-charge in Jalna

A 'bandh' has been announced by a Maratha outfit in Maharashtra's Thane city on September 11 in protest against the recent police lathi charge on demonstrators in Jalna.

Local leaders from the opposition parties have expressed their support for the 'bandh' organised by Sakal Maratha Morcha, endorsed by the backed by the Sambhaji Brigade. At a meeting of the opposition parties held here on Saturday, local leaders declared their support for the bandh and appealed to citizens of Thane to participate in it.

Attendees at the meeting included Suhas Desai, the NCP (Sharad Pawar faction) city unit president, Pradeep Shinde from Shiv Sena (UBT), Ravindra More and Avinash Jadhav from MNS, Ramesh Ambre, the Maratha Kranti Morcha's city chief, and Vikrant Chavan, the Congress' city president.

Earlier this month, a protest demanding reservation for the Maratha community turned violent in Antarwali Sarathi village in Jalna district, resulting in injuries to numerous people, including dozens of police personnel. The police resorted to lathi-charges and fired tear gas shells to disperse a violent mob that allegedly prevented authorities from transferring a man on a hunger strike, which was part of the quota protest, to the hospital. Since then, Maratha outfits have continued to stage protests in various parts of the state to advocate for their various demands.