NEW DELHI: Normal life was badly hit in over 15 districts of Uttar Pradesh following disruption of road and rail traffic, arson and brick batting by students protesting against the reservation policy of the government.
However, the agitation remained peaceful in neighboring Rajasthan.
The violence in Uttar Pradesh has so far taken a toll of one. A student was killed and four others injured Wednesday in Jaunpur as police opened fire to quell a mob of stone throwing agitators after a baton charge proved ineffective.
A report from Rajasthan’s capital city, Jaipur said students squatting on roads in different parts of the city raised slogans against the reservation policy.
The students are protesting against the announcement by Prime Minister Vishwanath Pratap Singh that reservations for backward caste and tribes so scheduled by the constitution would be extended by 10 years.
The areas worst hit by the agitation are Allahabad and Kanpur. In Allahabad students completely disrupted normal life setting on fire several vehicles and the bogie of a train, They also smashed the cabin of the Prayag railway station and tried to burn it. Several incidents of stone throwing were also reported in the city.
In the industrial city of Kanpur, protesting students damaged two buses and brick batted a police party. The students disrupted train traffic between Kanpur and Delhi for about two hours.
A report from Meerut said the students boycotted classes and took out processions. They also submitted a memorandum to the district magistrate demanding immediate abolition of the reservation system.
A report from Allahabad said though the police had made elaborate security arrangements they could not completely check the violence by the students who went around the town in processions indulging in arson and violence.
According to OP. Singh, officiating. SP, a “mild” baton charge was made by the police at several places to disperse mobs. One police vehicle was damaged in violence and the driver was seriously injured. Police sources said 10 students had been arrested so far.
The chairman of the anti-reservation movement, Ajay Kumar Singh, condemned the baton charge on “peaceful” demonstrators.
Article extracted from this publication >> December 22, 1989
