Rohtak protest turns violent, one killed

Rohtak

Haryana DGP said army has been called in to control the situation.

The protestors who had gathered at the Rohtak bypass road of Delhi Hissar National Highway turned violent and allegedly attacked police vehicles which were parked there in which window panes were damaged, officials said.

The security personnel deployed there had to use force, including firing, to control the violent mob which also attacked the nearby private residence of Haryana Finance Minister Abhimanyu.

A car parked outside the house was also set on fire by the mob which pelted stones on the house besides attempting to set it on fire, police said.

Seeing the situation going out of control, security personnel opened fire in which one person was killed and around 21 others were injured, police said.

"There is one death of an unidentified person because of (suspected) bullet injuries," said authorities of the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Science & Hospital.

State BJP President Subhash Barala said that "The Haryana CM has said the state government is ready to take every step to give reservation to Jats. Opposition parties have promised us support in the Assembly on the issue."

Former Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda also made an appeal for maintenance of peace and harmony in the state as there were 'some forces' which were trying to create tension among the people.

"The CM has assured that a solution will be worked out after holding discussion with agitating Jats. The solution should be such that nobody should suffer and everybody should benefit. We have told the government to take a decision in this regard on an urgent basis," Hooda said.

INLD State President Ashok Arora asked the state government to seek an apology from Saini for his anti-Jat quota remarks.

"We have also told the government that if the Tamil Nadu government can give reservation to its people by amending law, then the Haryana government should also follow the same route to give reservation to Jats.

"However, it is for the government to take a decision. We also appeal to the protesting Jats to maintain peace in the interest of the state," Arora said.

The meeting was also attended by CLP leader Kiran Chaudhary, Haryana Congress Chief Ashok Tanwar and Arora.

Divisional Railway Manager, Ambala Division, Dinesh Kumar said, "Rail services at Hisar-Dhuri track were blocked at 12 noon today. Movement of trains on Delhi-Ambala track was also stopped at around 1 PM today because of the Jat protest."

The Delhi-Amritsar track has also been affected because of the protests, he said, adding the agitators had blocked trains between Sonepat and Panipat.

"We are trying to divert trains via Saharanpur for Delhi. We will have to cancel some trains as we cannot divert all of them," he said.