Violence and arson marked the Shiv Sena-sponsored bandh in Ratnagiri district today against the police firing on anti-nuclear power project demonstrators in Jaitapur.
Violence and arson marked the Shiv Sena-sponsored bandh in Ratnagiri district today against the police firing on anti-nuclear power project demonstrators in Jaitapur.
Prohibitory orders were promulgated under section 144 CrPC in the coastal district after the largely successful shut-down called by opposition Shiv Sena turned violent.
Meanwhile, the Maharashtra government announced a magisterial inquiry into the police firing yesterday that left one person dead.
Angry protesters today vandalised the district hospital where the post-mortem of Tabrez Abdul Sayanekar, who died in the police firing, was to be conducted, set afire some state transport buses and burnt tyres to block Ratnagiri-Kolhapur highway, police said.
With the opposition sharpening its attack on the state's Democratic Front (DF) government over the proposed 9900 MW nuclear power project, leader of the opposition in the state assembly Eknath Khadse demanded a judicial probe into the police firing.
Though the government mounted a strong defence of the controversial project, it announced a magisterial inquiry into the firing. At the same time, it said the probe would also ascertain if Monday's violent protests were part of a pre-planned political conspiracy.
"An inquiry will be conducted whether the violent protests at the plant site and the attack on Sakhrinate police station were politically motivated and part of a pre-planned conspiracy," home minister RR Patil told the house.
Tabrez was killed in police firing at Sakhrinate village when around 600-700 locals protesting against the project, attacked the local police station.
The body of Tabrez has not been claimed so far by his kin and locals, who are demanding an announcement by chief minister Prithviraj Chavan regarding scrapping of the project.
The crowd, which had started collecting outside the hospital since this morning, grew restive as the day wore on and ransacked a portion of the government hospital.
The mob set ablaze a few state-owned buses, prompting a baton-charge. Later the authorities clamped prohibitory orders under section 144 CrPC to prevent further breach of peace.
The bandh received a good response across the district, with shops shut and most vehicles off the roads.
Senior Sena leader Gajanan Kirtikar, along with MLAs Bharat Gogawale, Sadanand Chawan and Parshuram Uparkar met the superintendent of police and district collector and demanded that Tabrez's autopsy be filmed in the presence of a 'Manvadhikar Sameeti' member.
They also demanded that local revenue official Ajit Pawar, who had ordered police firing, be suspended and charged with murder.
Meanwhile, Shiv Sena executive president Uddhav Thackeray has warned that the Congress-NCP government will have to pay a "heavy price" for police firing.
"It is time for chief minister Prithviraj Chavan to pack up and go home," Thackeray said.
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