Jat agitation: Situation at Hisar remains tense

Hisar (Haryana), Mar 8: The situation continued to remain tense on Thursday in this district which has witnessed the Jat agitation take a violent turn.

Rail services remained paralysed while buses were off the roads. District administration had yesterday ordered closure of all educational institutions for three days.

Security forces had conducted a flag march here last evening as Hisar remained on the boil.

At Garhi village near here, mobs smashed window panes of trucks triggering a major jam on the National Highway-10 last evening. The protesters had placed tree trunks on roads at some places.

Protesters have been seeking reservations in government jobs for the Jat community in OBC category and have blamed Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda for "going back on promises" in this regard.

A police post and a judge's car was torched by the protesters last night. They had also stormed the premises of Power Grid Corporation following the death of a youth in alleged police firing, prompting authorities to seek army's help and close all educational institutions for three days.

The body of the youth, which the protesters had placed on the tracks, not yet been cremated.

Hisar, located 155 km from the national capital, has been virtually come under siege of the protesters demanding OBC quota.

The Haryana government has accused Opposition INLD, which along with BJP stalled the assembly proceedings over the issue yesterday, of "instigating" villagers in Hisar to continue with the stir for its "vested interests".

Chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, meanwhile, has maintained that the government's doors were always open for talks.

The protesters, who have paralysed rail traffic for past 19 days, had yesterday torched a police chowki in Hisar Cantt and damaged an SBI ATM in Cantt area, police said.

PTI