Jaipur, October 2
Over 20,000 Gujjars, demanding Scheduled Tribe quota status, today courted arrest in various parts of Rajasthan, officials said.
Among those arrested include Congress MP Sachin Pilot, who led a procession of thousands of Gurjars at Muhana Mode, 25 km from here. He addressed a public gathering and then boarded buses along with his followers provided by the state administration, SP (East) V.K.Singh said. "About a dozen buses packed with protesters were sent to temporary jails where they are kept," Singh said.
Of these, about 10,000 protesters, led by Roop Singh, co-convenor of the Gurjar Mahasabha, were also taken into buses after they courted arrest at Bharatpur, additional director-general of police Omendra Bhardwaj told PTI over phone. The Mahasabha had announced that over five lakh people would court arrest as part of their agitation programme.
Expelled BJP MLA Prahalad Gunjal, leading 5,000 protesters, also courted arrest in Kota, ADGP A.K.Jain said, adding so far 10,000 Gurjars were being shifted to temporary jails from Kota division, which covered Bundi, Jhalawar, Baran, Tonk and Sawai Madhopur districts.
There were also reports of court arrests from Pali, Ajmer and Rajsamand districts. No untoward incident has, however, been reported so far. The state government has put up 259 temporary jails in schools, colleges, and playgrounds to lodge the agitators.
It has also made arrangements for their food and stay, if they do not seek bail. Twenty-two areas in 14 affected districts have been turned into cantonments with the deployment of the CRPF, Rapid Action Force, BSF, and Rajasthan Armed Constabulary personnel.
— PTI
