Associate of fasting Maharashtra farmer attempts suicide

An associate of the farmer, whose hunger strike over water scarcity had triggered crass comments from Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, today attempted suicide after which he was arrested, police said.
Dhanaji Pawale (23) climbed a tree at Azad Maidan in South Mumbai and jumped from it in a bid to end his life to protest state government's alleged apathy towards drought-affected people, Senior Inspector Azad Maidan police station Deepak Dhole said.
Earlier, a group of 100 people, led by Prabhakar Deshmukh, the farmer who has been on a fast at the Azad Maidan from February 5 to draw the Government's attention towards the plight of the drought-affected population, tried to enter the Vidhan Bhavan premises but were stopped by policemen.

The protesters, who included Pawale, were brought back to Azad Maidan ground in police vans.
"Subsequently, Pawale climbed the tree and began threatening to jump from there, saying the Government was not paying any heed to their plight," Dhole said.
Fire brigade personnel were called in and they held a sheet around the tree. "Pawale jumped on the sheet and escaped unhurt," Dhole said.
He was subsequently taken to police station where he was placed under arrest for alleged attempt to end his life.
Deshmukh, who hails from Solapur district in western Maharashtra, came into the media glare when Ajit took potshots at his fast and made insensitive remarks regarding his protest at a function in Indapur in Pune district. The NCP leader later apologised for his comments.