Police vehicles torched, trains disrupted, highways blocked as Gujjar quota agitation enters 3rd day

The Gujjar community agitation demanding five per cent quota in jobs and education turned violent Sunday with shots being fired and police vehicles torched in Dholpur district and protesters blocking road and rail traffic in many areas in Rajasthan.

As a precautionary measure, authorities have imposed prohibitory orders under CrPc section 144 in Dholpur and neighbouring Karauli districts, police said.

At least 20 trains were cancelled and seven diverted during the day as the protesters, led by the Gujjar Arakshan Sangharsh Samiti chief Kirori Singh Bainsla, continued their sit-in on railway tracks in Sawai Madhopur district for the third day on Sunday, officials said.

The sit-in began on Friday evening and has affected the movement of over 250 trains through the region since.

The agitators also blocked highways connecting major cities on Sunday.

According to police officials, three cases have been registered in connection with the blocking of traffic.

Violence broke out in Dholpur district as unidentified miscreants fired 8-10 rounds in the air while a blockade on the Agra-Morena Highway was in place, Superintendent of Police (SP) Ajay Singh told PTI.

The protesters set afire three police vehicles -- two jeeps and a bus, he added.

The SP said the protesters also pelted stones, injuring four personnel, adding that police had to lob tear gas shells to disperse the crowd.

The Hindoli-Uniyara state highway was blocked in Bundi district, where hundreds of people demonstrated throughout the day.

As traffic movement came to a halt, vehicles were diverted to other routes. The demonstrators, however, allowed the passage of ambulances and vehicles with patients or pregnant woman.

Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot called the stone pelting and the torching of vehicles unjustified. "Holding protest is justified but sitting on railway tracks is not. Protesters should come forward for talks. The government is open for dialogue and has constituted a committee," he said.

Referring to the violence in Dholpur, Gehlot said, "Anti-social elements have joined the protest. Administration and police will investigate the reasons of the incident. Gujjar leader Kirori Singh Bainsla has appealed to maintain peace so people should listen to him."