Maratha Quota Stir: Mumbai Police Issue Notice to Jarange, Ask Him To Vacate Azad Maidan

Mumbai Police on Tuesday issued a notice to activist Manoj Jarange and his team, asking them to vacate Azad Maidan in the city, where he is staging an indefinite hunger strike over the Maratha quota demand, officials said.

As the Maratha quota protesters violated pre-agitation conditions laid down by the police as per Bombay High Court's guidelines, the notice was issued to Jarange and his core team by the Azad Maidan police, an official said.

Jarange's hunger strike at the Azad Maidan in south Mumbai over the demand for Maratha quota entered the fifth day on Tuesday.

The high court has asked his supporters to vacate all streets in the city by Tuesday noon and restore normalcy. Noting that Mumbai was "literally paralysed" due to Maratha agitation, which has violated all conditions and brought the city to a standstill, the HC on Monday stated it was giving an "opportunity" to Jarange and protesters to ensure all streets are vacated and cleaned by Tuesday noon.

Jarange has been demanding inclusion of Marathas in the Other Backward Classes (OBC) category for reservation benefits.