ROHTAK/NEW DELHI: Violence continued in different parts of Haryana, particularly Rohtak and Jind, as protesters demanding reservation in jobs and education for the Jat community set fire to police vehicles, buses, hotels and a mall. Despite a curfew and Army presence, protesters continued violence in Rohtak setting a petrol pump on fire.
Four people was killed in fresh violence on Saturday evening in Jhajjar while one more was killed Kaithal. Army sources said a column deployed in the district opened fire on protesters. Curfew was imposed in Hisar and Hansi areas of Haryana on Saturday evening after violence spread.
The time has come for the government to initiate the process of giving reservation to the Jat community, Union minister Birender Singh said on Saturday. Accompanied by two other BJP leaders who are also ministers, he said the top leadership has authorised them to hold dialogue with the community.
Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar had earlier said that the government is ready to agree to the demands of the protesters within the ambit of the Constitution and appealed to them to withdraw the agitation. He was speaking after a meeting of top state officials to assess the situation.
The reservation protests reached Delhi on Saturday with agitations on the Delhi University north campus and at the Delhi- Sonepat border blocking the National Highway 1, which connects the national capital with Haryana, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir.
Wide-spread protests have led to cancellation of over 800 trains since the agitation began on February 15. The Army had to use choppers to enter Rohtak in the morning because protesters had dug up roads at several entry points.
Curfew was imposed in Jind after protesters set the railway station in Budha Kheda on fire this morning. The protesters also burned down buses, cars and a petrol pump in Rohtak. Haryana Police chief Yash Pal Singhal appealed to community elders to rein-in agitating youngsters.
The army is positioned in Rohtak and Bhiwani and Bhiwani, where curfew was imposed yesterday, and six other affected districts including Jind, Jhajjar, Sonepat, Karnal, Kaithal and Hisar. Haryana DGP Yash Pal Singla appealed to community elders to rein-in agitating youngsters.
Union Ministers Rajnath Singh, Manohar Parrikar, Sushma Swaraj and Arun Jaitley reviewed the situation in the state with National Security Advisor Ajit Doval late last evening.
3,300 additional soldiers have been sent to assist the state government.
Yesterday, hundreds of protesters broke into the home of state Finance Minister Captain Abhimanyu and set it on fire. Three people were killed in police firing yesterday. Mobile internet and SMS services were blocked in Rohtak on Thursday as the week-long agitation escalated. Schools will remain closed in at least eight districts today.
After an all-party meeting with the Chief Minister yesterday, Jat leaders rejected an appeal to call off their agitation. They say they will continue their protest till a legislation is passed to meet their demands.
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