Jat unrest: Govt. gives ‘free hand’ to Army to deal with looters

Despite the army deployment in eight districts – Rohtak, Bhiwani, Jhajjar, Hisar, Jind, Kaithal, Sonipat and Panipat – and curfew imposed in five of them, unruly mobs have been on the rampage in several areas, especially in Rohtak and Jhajjar towns. One person was killed when Border Security Force personnel opened fire in self-defence after being fired upon by a mob.

With trains to and from Delhi and other places being cancelled, buses not plying, all major highways passing through Haryana blocked by protesters at several places and railway tracks being blocked and uprooted, thousands of people suffered as they were stranded at different places. Indian army soldiers conduct a flag march past damaged buildings at Rohtak, a day after being rocked by violence in Haryana state, India, Saturday, Feb. 20, 2016. Three more people had died in the hospital overnight, state official DK Behera said. Premier Trains like Jammu Rajdhani, Amritsar Shatabdi, Kalka and Chandigarh Shatabdi trains remained cancelled due to the ongoing stir.

Yashpal Malik, an influential Jat leader and national president of the All India Jat Aarakshan Sangaharsh Samiti (AIJASS), said that all Jat leaders in UP, Punjab, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Uttarakhand have agreed to peacefully block roads in their respective villages, in support of the Jats of Haryana. Police said 78 other people have been injured since Friday.

The Jats say they are struggling to compete with less privileged castes for government jobs and university places – but other caste groups have opposed their demands for special treatment. Shops and malls have been looted and set on fire.

The stir escalated even as the Haryana government called an all-party meeting in Chandigarh to discuss the reservation issue and the Jat protests.

Though Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar did not go into details of the arrangements, he appealed the protestors to go home assuring that their voice has been heard. “I am hopeful when we are in full control of the present situation, everyone will think over it and come to know that these (indulging in violence) are not good things”.

Authorities clamped curfew and issued “shoot-at-sight” orders in the worst-affected Rohtak and Bhiwani districts on Friday evening.

The Haryana government and the state police have failed to react adequately to the violence.

The Jats are demanding quotas in government jobs and institutions of higher education for their caste.

Meanwhile, additional troops have been deployed to the violence-hit state to bring the situation under control.

The Jat stir had yesterday claimed life of one unidentified person killed in a BSF firing in Rohtak after agitation turned violent. “Ten columns of paramilitary forces have reached while 23 more on way and some of these will be airlifted”, he said, adding that he had also spoken to the Union Home Secretary and apprised him about the ground situation.