20-05-2025
Maratha community members stage protest before Ajit Pawar during Beed visit
Maratha community members on Monday staged a protest in front of deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar, demanding strict action against the accused involved in the attack on Maratha youth Shivaraj Divate, a resident of Limbuta village in Parli on Friday afternoon.
The activists gathered before the gate of Parali rest house and demanded, 'Give justice Ajit dada.' The sloganeering lasted for ten to fifteen minutes, after which the DCM came out and gave a patient hearing to the activists. He was accompanied by MLAs Pankaja and Dhananjay Munde. Pawar promised the activists that strict action would be taken, after which the activists left the venue.
Pawar, who was on a visit to Beed, was met with sloganeering by agitated Maratha activists, some of whom handed over a memorandum seeking strict action against the accused. Pawar is on his maiden visit to Beed after becoming the district guardian minister.
He stated that the CM has reviewed the case and issued necessary instructions that such violent behavior will not be tolerated, regardless of the political affiliations of those involved.
Pawar further said that strict action will be taken against all the accused and that the process to invoke the Maharashtra Control of Organized Crime Act (MCOCA) has been initiated. ' All the accused will face strict action. The process to implement MCOCA has started,' Pawar said.
Currently Beed district has been witnessing communal tension and caste clashes between Marathas and Vanjari communities in the wake of the brutal murder of Massajog Sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh. The Deputy chief minister had issued directives to the Beed police to invoke stringent sections of Bharati Nyay Sanhita, including the invocation of MCOCA if needed, against the suspects.
The victim claimed that he could have become Santosh Deshmukh part II had the necessary interventions by locals not taken place on the day of the attack.
Tensions between the two communities have been on the boil since Deshmukh's murder, where the accused belongs to the Vanjari community. The district has also witnessed caste flare-ups from time to time, hinting at a game of one-upmanship and domination.
