500 Maratha quota supporters booked for protest on Mumbai-Bengaluru highway

Pune: The Pune police have registered offences against nearly 500 activists of outfits supporting Maratha reservation for allegedly blocking a stretch of the Mumbai-Bengaluru Highway and setting tyres ablaze, officials said on Wednesday.

Protesters blocked the highway stretch near Navale bridge in Maharashtra's Pune city between 12.15 pm and 2.45 pm on Tuesday and burnt tyres to press their demand for reservation to Marathas, police said.

The police said they have registered offences against 400 to 500 activists of the Maratha Kranti Morcha and Sakal Maratha Morcha on various charges, including causing danger to the lives of others and spreading fear among commuters.

The activists have been booked under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code, the Maharashtra Police Act and the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, the police added.