Maharashtra: 26-year-old man hangs himself to death over Maratha quota issue

Aurangabad: A 26-year-old man allegedly committed suicide over the Maratha reservation issue here in Maharashtra, police said Tuesday.

The man, Kishor Shivaji Harde, was found hanging from a tree in his farm in Galle Borgaon village under Khuldabad tehsil of this district in central Maharashtra, they said.

A suicide note purportedly written by Harde was found in his pocket, the police added.

In the note, Harde has said he was taking the extreme step because the Maratha community is not being provided reservation in government jobs and educational institutions, they said.

This is not a suicide but the government has "murdered" him, the police said, quoting from the note.

After the suicide came to light, villagers sat on a dharna at the tehsil office in Khuldabad. Harde was working with a finance company in Yeola tehsil of Nashik district, the police said, adding a case has been registered and further probe was on.

A similar incident took place on Monday in Ahmednagar district, where a 16-year-old girl allegedly committed suicide by hanging over the Maratha reservation issue.

Around eight people had committed suicide in the last two months where the deceased linked their decision to end life to the Maratha quota demand.

Marathas, a politically influential community that constitutes around 30 per cent of the state's population, have been demanding 16 per cent reservation in government jobs and education.

The community had organised statewide protests in July and August in support of their demand.