Activist Manoj Jarange Patil with supporters at an auditorium for a meeting over Maratha reservation.
Credit: PTI File Photo
Mumbai: Amid reports that “someone” is carrying out surveillance over Maratha reservation campaigner Manoj Jarange Patil’s Antarwali Sarathi village through drones, the Maharashtra government on Tuesday assured a probe into the incident and present facts.
Antarwali Sarathi is located in the Ambad tehsil of Jalna district of Maharashtra.
After the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi flagged the issue, state Excise Minister Shambhuraj Desai said that the issue would be probed. “We will ask the district police to go into the details and present a report,” Desai told the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly.
Earlier, Leader of Opposition Vijay Wadettiwar said that Jarange-Patil’s life could be in danger.
“Everyone has the right to protest… What kind of strategy is this to handle the (Maratha) agitation. With drones flying around an atmosphere of fear has been created in the village, the people are terrified,” he said.
“If he is indeed under surveillance, who is doing it and why,” asked Wadettiwar, a senior Congress leader and former minister.
In Jalna, Jarange-Patil said he had no idea why the drones were flying around in the village or at whose behest. “I am not bothered as I am working for the poor,” he said.