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Pune Police may use mobile jammers if MPSC stir prolongs
NCP (SP) MLA, Rohit Pawar, criticised the registration of cases against students who had been participating in the peaceful agitation
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The Pune city police has not ruled out the possibility of installing mobile jammers near S M Joshi Bridge where the aspirants of the Maharashtra Public Service Commission (MPSC) are staging an agitation for the last 10 days.
A mobile jammer vehicle was stationed on Saturday near the venue.
“We had taken the vehicle for a technical test. At this juncture we do not have plans to install mobile jammers at the venue. But if the stir prolongs, we might plan to use it,” said a senior police official, requesting anonymity.
The NCP (SP) MLA, Rohit Pawar, who is spearheading the stir, apprehended that police are likely to use mobile jammers to prevent the live streaming of the protest. He suggested that aspirants consider moving to Tilak Chowk as the new agitation venue. He objected to the police action.
Pawar criticised the registration of cases against students who had been participating in the peaceful agitation.
He visited Vishrambaug Police Station this morning and met the police officials. He asked why no case has been registered against him since he has inflammatory speeches during the stir.
The additional police commissioner Rajesh Bansode said that the legislator was not seen as being part of the organising team, according to the police’s initial assessment.
Bansode added that the police would verify the available video footage as part of the investigation and examine the circumstances surrounding the speeches delivered by him during the agitation.
Meanwhile the agitating aspirants expressed their willingness to hold talks with the state government to end the deadlock.
But they reiterated their demand that the MPSC chairman Vivek Bhimanwar must step down and the government must fill up 70000 vacant posts.
The stir is driven by allegations of examination paper leaks, repeated postponements of examinations, delays in recruitment and the financial and academic losses suffered by aspirants.
“We want to study and build our future rather than fight with the government. We are ready for talks with the state government. The issue can be resolved through dialogue. The government should initiate discussions at the earliest, failing which the agitation will be intensified,” said a protestor Pramod Patil.
The aspirants claimed that the number of students at the protest site had increased significantly from the initial gathering of around 3,000, but no representative of the state government had visited the agitation site. He also alleged that the government was reluctant to act against Bhimanwar because of his friendship with the chief minister, Devendra Fadnavis.
