Mumbai: The Shiv Sena's call for a total shutdown of Ratnagiri district, some 250 km from Mumbai, to protest against the death of one villager in police firing on Monday turned violent on Tuesday.
Though the day began peacefully in the coastal district, mobs ransacked a district hospital, torched buses, burnt tyres on state highways and removed air from tyres of state transport buses.
The family members of Tabrez Sejkar, 30, who was killed in police firing a day earlier while protesting against the Jaitapur nuclear power project, have refused to claim his body and want the police official responsible for ordering the firing on protesters to be suspended.
Several others were also injured in the firing. "There was a total shutdown in Ratnagiri as offices, schools and shops remained closed today," said Madan Damle, a local journalist from Khed.
Tourist sites deserted
"I had gone there for some official work but there was poor attendance in government offices," he told Gulf News on telephone from Ratnagiri. He said tourist spots like Chiplun, Kelshi, Dapoli and the beautiful beaches in Ratnagiri wore a deserted look. As the Sena enjoys good support from local residents, many government employees also observed the bandh.
However, many residents were not too happy with the method advocated by the Sena activists, though they have backed its opposition to the massive 9,900 MW Jaitapur nuclear power plant.
"Life is back to normal and the situation is now under control," a policeman at the Ratnagiri district control room told this paper this evening.
Judicial probe urged
In the legislative assembly, leader of the Opposition Eknath Khadse yesterday demanded a judicial probe into Monday's police firing while Sena executive president Uddhav Thackeray said that the Democratic Front government would have to pay a "heavy price" for the firing.
"It is time for Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan to pack up and go home," he said.
The Konkan Bachao Samiti and Janhit Seva Samiti, two NGOs opposing the project have severely condemned the firing.
Though the day began peacefully in the coastal district, mobs ransacked a district hospital, torched buses, burnt tyres on state highways and removed air from tyres of state transport buses.
The family members of Tabrez Sejkar, 30, who was killed in police firing a day earlier while protesting against the Jaitapur nuclear power project, have refused to claim his body and want the police official responsible for ordering the firing on protesters to be suspended.
Several others were also injured in the firing. "There was a total shutdown in Ratnagiri as offices, schools and shops remained closed today," said Madan Damle, a local journalist from Khed.
Tourist sites deserted
"I had gone there for some official work but there was poor attendance in government offices," he told Gulf News on telephone from Ratnagiri. He said tourist spots like Chiplun, Kelshi, Dapoli and the beautiful beaches in Ratnagiri wore a deserted look. As the Sena enjoys good support from local residents, many government employees also observed the bandh.
However, many residents were not too happy with the method advocated by the Sena activists, though they have backed its opposition to the massive 9,900 MW Jaitapur nuclear power plant.
"Life is back to normal and the situation is now under control," a policeman at the Ratnagiri district control room told this paper this evening.
Judicial probe urged
In the legislative assembly, leader of the Opposition Eknath Khadse yesterday demanded a judicial probe into Monday's police firing while Sena executive president Uddhav Thackeray said that the Democratic Front government would have to pay a "heavy price" for the firing.
"It is time for Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan to pack up and go home," he said.
The Konkan Bachao Samiti and Janhit Seva Samiti, two NGOs opposing the project have severely condemned the firing.
