Maratha quota violence: Maharashtra govt appoints IPS officer Sandeep Karnik as head of SIT

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The Maharashtra government on Monday appointed IPS officer Sandeep Karnik as the head of the special investigation team (SIT), which will probe the Maratha quota violence, reported the PTI.

Sandeep Karnik and three other officers were reportedly accused of unjustified firing during a protest staged by farmers in Maval tehsil of Pune district in Maharashtra in August 2011, in which three persons were killed, as per the PTI.

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According to the news agency, the Maharashtra state home department issued an order stating that Karnik will head the SIT, which will conduct an in-depth inquiry into the violence that erupted during the Maratha quota protests a few months ago.

Violence was reported during quota protests in October 2023, in which houses of two MLAs and other properties were ransacked and torched in Beed.

"The SIT is expected to submit its report in the next three months, covering issues such as deliberate attempts to instigate people to resort to violence by spreading malicious and fake information through social media and other means of communication. The SIT chief will have special powers to invite experts and induct more people with the state government's consent," the order said, as per the PTI.

Sandeep Karnik is currently posted as the commissioner of police of Nashik City in Maharashtra.

Sandeep Karnik, who was the superintendent of police of Pune district at the time of the Maval firing, was criticised by political parties and the Bombay High Court in 2015 pulled up the state government for letting him off with just a warning.

A probe into the incident had indicated that four officers, including Karnik, were involved in the unjustified firing on a mob of farmers, who had staged a roadblock on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway in Maval to protest against the construction of a pipeline from Pavana dam to Pimpri Chinchwad.

Meanwhile, in light of the ongoing Maratha community agitation for reservation in education and government jobs, Sachin Ombase, collector of Maharashtra's Dharashiv district, has expressed concern about the potential overcrowding of candidates during elections, which would pose challenges for electronic voting machines (EVMs). Ombase sought help from the Election Commission (EC) and stressed the need for clarification on how to manage such a circumstance, reported PTI

According to the news agency report, Dharashiv, formerly known as Osmanabad, is part of the Marathwada area, which includes eight districts and eight Lok Sabha seats. The region has been the focus of activist Manoj Jarange Patil's push for the Maratha reservation.

In a recent note dated March 6, Collector Sachin Ombase raised the likelihood of an excessive number of Maratha candidates entering the electoral contest, potentially overloading the capacity of EVMs. He emphasised the logistical issues that could occur if the elections were to be held using traditional ballot sheets, the PTI report stated.

According to the report, Ombase expressed worries about insufficient staff and voting boxes, emphasising the necessity for larger ballot sheets to accommodate more candidates, necessitating the use of additional ballot boxes. "As a result, more ballot boxes may be required," the collector wrote.

(with PTI inputs)