With a section of Jat community leaders giving a call to re-start protests for reservation from Sunday, security arrangements in Haryana have been tightened with the deployment of 4,800 paramilitary personnel and the administration is on high alert.
Paramilitary forces and the Haryana Police have been deployed in sensitive areas of Rohtak, Jhajjar, Sonipat, Jind, Panipat and Kaithal districts to ensure that the agitation does not get out of control and turns violent.
“Besides adequate deployment of police personnel, as many as 48 companies of paramilitary forces have been deployed at various places in the State keeping in view the stir call from tomorrow. We have asked for 15 more companies from the Centre,” Haryana Additional Chief Secretary (Home) Ram Niwas said.
Niwas said, “We are not taking any chance,” even though only one group was going ahead with the dharna.
He also said police and paramilitary forces have been deployed to guard the Western Yamuna Canal in Sonipat district. Protesters had disrupted water supply to the national Capital by damaging the Carrier-lined Channel (ClC) of Munak Canal during the earlier Jat agitation in February.
The administration has specified one spot in each district where people can peacefully hold dharna, officials said. However, officials said they were wary of the fact that protesters may attempt to block National Highways and rail tracks, like in February, and therefore they have put maximum security to prevent a repeat of the situation.
The call for the renewed agitation has been given by the All-India Jat Aarakshan Sangharsh Samiti (AIJASS). Some other sections of the Jat community and its leadership have distanced themselves from the agitation call.
AIJASS leader Hawa Singh Sangwan has assured that the protests would remain peaceful. Haryana saw the worst violence in its five decades of existence in February this year during the Jat agitation for reservation.
As many as 30 people were killed, 320 others injured and property worth hundreds of crores of rupees was destroyed during the agitation. The State remained paralysed for nearly 10 days. Meanwhile, the Haryana Police has cancelled leave of all personnel except in emergency cases till further orders. Prohibitory orders under Section 144 of the CrPc have already been imposed in seven sensitive districts of Haryana barring gathering of five or more persons and paramilitary forces have been conducting flag marches during the past few days.
Police is keeping a close watch on anyone trying to spread rumours or make inflammatory statements through social media. “Adequate security measures have been taken. We are fully prepared to deal with the situation,” Additional Director General of Police Mohammad Akil said. “The police stations are stocked adequately equipped to deal with any kind of protest,” he said.
The BJP Government in Haryana, led by Chief Minister Manohar lal Khattar, which was blamed for inept handling of the violence in February, has also set up a state-level riot control room to deal with the forthcoming agitation.
The Khattar Government had last month notified reservation for the Jat and five other communities in jobs and admissions but the Punjab and Haryana High Court stayed the notification which gave reservation in Government jobs and educational institutions under the Backward Class category.
The business community in Haryana which faced massive financial loss during the Jat quota agitation in February has meanwhile appealed to Jats to hold a peaceful protest in support of their demands.
“We appeal to Jat leaders that they should keep their agitation peaceful and there should not be any kind of disorder so that nobody should face any loss,” Haryana Pradesh Beopar Mandal, president, Bajrang Dass Garg said.
Given the security arrangements put in place by the State Government ahead of proposed agitation by Jats, traders feel that there is not going to be any incident of violence or arson as witnessed during previous pro-quota Jat stir this year.