A very painful case has come to light from Jalna city of Maharashtra. Amid reservation dispute in the state, an unknown person set the car of OBC worker Navnath Waghmare on fire late on September 21.
This heartbreaking incident is from Neelam Nagar area at around 10.00 pm. Police said that in CCTV footage, the suspect is seen setting fire in the car by putting flammable liquid from the bottle. According to the police, the upper part of the car has been damaged by the fire.
Local people reached the spot and also helped in extinguishing the fire. This incident raises many questions, especially when the Maratha reservation dispute in the state has just calmed down.
Aims deliberately targeted- victims
Navnath Vaghmare lodged a complaint with Kadim Jalna police station. The entire incident has been recorded in the CCTV footage and the police have registered a case against the unknown accused and started investigation. Car owner and OBC activist Navnath Waghmare termed the incident as a serious conspiracy, alleging that his car was deliberately targeted. He said that this act has been done with the intention of intimidating him and weakening the OBC movement.
Waghmare also questioned how the situation would have been if the people of the OBC community had targeted another leader’s car. He clarified that his community agitates under the purview of the Constitution and does not run on the path of violence. After this incident, there has been an atmosphere of tension in the area. However, the police have deployed additional force to maintain peace.
Center for OBC reservation struggle in Jalna
Jalna district has been the center of reservation struggle of Maratha, OBC, Dhangar and Banjara communities for a long time. OBC workers are constantly registering protests against the OBC quota to the Maratha society. He says that by giving the Kumbhi caste certificate to the Maratha society through Hyderabad Gazette, the opportunities of SC, ST and existing OBC community will be reduced.
Meanwhile, Deepak Borhade of Dhangar community has been on hunger strike for the last six days and the Banjara community has also taken to the streets demanding the inclusion of the ST category. Due to these demands and movements related to reservation, the atmosphere of Jalna district has remained unusual for the last several weeks.
On September 21, lawyer and social activist Gunratna Sadavartete visited Jalna and supported the Dhangar movement, after which some protesters also tried to attack their car. Meanwhile, supporters of Manoj Jarang, leader of the Maratha Reservation Movement, are also being accused that they are trying to intimidate OBC workers.
There was a big movement recently
The state government had issued a guideline earlier this month to give the Kumbhi caste certificate to the Marathas of Marathwada region so that they could get OBC quota. But OBC workers are constantly protesting against it. This incident of Jalna shows that the reservation dispute is no longer a political issue, but it is also affecting the trust and co-existence among the communities. The police, considering the case sensitive, has intensified the investigation and appealed to all the parties to maintain restraint to maintain peace.