Footwear hurled at BJP MLC: Unidentified Maratha activists booked in Indapur

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Some unidentified Maratha quota activists were booked for allegedly throwing footwear at Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLC Gopichand Padalkar in Indapur in Pune, a police official said on Monday, according to the PTI.

The incident took place on Saturday when Gopichand Padalkar was on his way to meet milk producers seeking a hike in prices, the official said, as per the PTI.

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Maratha quota activists were observing a hunger strike nearby and a video showed some of them hurling footwear at Gopichand Padalkar, before police escorted the MLC to safety, he said.

"A case has been registered against unidentified Maratha activists who were on a hunger strike. We are checking CCTV footage of the area as part of the probe," Inspector Dilip Pawar of Indapur police station said, the PTI reported on Monday.

An OBC leader said members of the community called for a bandh (shutdown) in Indapur on Monday to protest against the attack on Gopichand Padalkar.

In an another incident, the Maharashtra Police had lodged a First Information Report (FIR) against six persons who reportedly organised Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange's rally in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar district in the state. According to the report in PTI, the cops booked the organisers for breaching the permissible time limit.

According to the report in PTI, the organisers had sought permission for the event in Kannad city on December 2, scheduled to run from 6 pm to 10 pm. However, the rally commenced at 11 pm and concluded at 12.40 am the following day, violating the permitted time read the FIR registered on Sunday.

According to the report, the FIR highlighted that the use of loudspeakers during the rally caused disturbance to nearby residents.

The six organisers have been charged under Sections 188 (disobedience of a lawful order), 268 (public nuisance), and 291 (continuing nuisance after being instructed to stop) of the Indian Penal Code, along with provisions of the Maharashtra Police Act, the PTI report stated.

Reportedly, Manoj Jarange has been actively campaigning across the state and advocating for Maratha community reservation. Following the Kannad rally, the activist visited Jalgaon and Buldhana districts on Monday and planned to spend Tuesday night in Hingoli district and meet Maratha community members in Akola and Washim districts.

(with PTI inputs)