Curfew imposed in parts of Hisar after violence

Curfew was on Tuesday clamped in Mayyar village and its surrounding areas in Hisar district in Haryana after protestors seeking quota for the Jat community went on a rampage.

In view of the volatile situation, district authorities have sought the help of the Army, officials said, adding that additional police forces have been deployed in the violence-hit areas. Hisar's Deputy Commissioner Yudhvir Khaliya said curfew had been clamped in Mayyar and other sensitive villages to maintain law and order and help restore peace.

The violence broke out in some areas on Monday, during which one person was killed and several others injured as police opened fire on protesters. Activists of the Jat Aarakshan Sangarsh Samiti, which has been demanding quota for the community under the OBC category, blocked several roads in the district.

Traffic on the Hisar-Delhi National Highway 10 was suspended. An unruly mob set on fire the State Bank of India branch at Hisar Cantt on Tuesday morning. They also set ablaze a cotton mill in Hisar, besides torching two buses of the company. A Reliance petrol pump, which was lying closed, had also been damaged by the mob, said the police. The protestors damaged a generator set at the Uklana railway station and later set it on fire. They also thrashed the security personnel who tried to stop them.

The mob also allegedly looted several trucks which were parked alongside the roads. A large number of people on Tuesday morning blocked roads at the Surewala chowk. The villagers also blocked roads in Bithmara and Litany chowk on Hisar-Tohana road. Due to road blockage, the traffic was hit in the region.

Addressing a function at Hasanpur village in Sonepat on Monday, Samiti President Yash Pal Malik had warned the central and the state governments that if its demand for quota was not met by October 3, the Samiti will intensify its agitation and block all the roads leading to Delhi.

Malik said that a number of communities, including Gujjars, Ahirs, Sainis and Kurmis, had been included in the central list of OBCs, "but the Jats had been excluded". He claimed that many states had included the Jats in their OBC list, but the Haryana government and the central government had failed to meet their demand.

The Hisar depot of the state-run Haryana Roadways has suspended its bus services with immediate effect as a precautionary measure, M S Khurb, general manager of Hisar depot said. Rail services between Hisar and Bhiwani remained suspended on the second day due to the violence.

A railway official said some of the trains passing through the area have been cancelled while some others have been diverted.

Meanwhile, the All-India Jat Mahasabha has announced that members of the Sabha will organise a token hunger strike on Wednesday at all the district headquarters of the state to press for their demand.