Maharashtra govt under fire for shooting protesters

BJP demands state government be dismissed, stalls assembly. Two police officials suspened for Tuesday's death of three protesters in police firing.

Opposition leaders in Maharashtra on Friday met governor K Sankaranarayanan and demanded dismissal of the Congress-NCP government in the state over police firing in Maval near Pune in which three farmers were killed.

Mourners-carry-the-body-of-a-farmer-killed-by-police-action-during-a-protest-before-a-cremation-ceremony-in-Maval-village-in-Pune

Leader of opposition in assembly Eknath Khadse, opposition leader in council Pandurang Phundkar and group leaders of opposition parties in Legislature were among those who met the governor at the Raj Bhawan on Friday morning.

"This is not the first instance of firing during this government's tenure," Khadse said after the meeting. "This is the second such instance in last 15 days," he said.

The state government has lost the moral authority to govern as seen by its "cruel" suppression of the farmers' agitation, he said.

The firing incident rocked the Legislature for the third consecutive day yesterday with Opposition creating a ruckus and calling the police action a "cold-blooded encounter".

Terming the firing as "murder", Shiv Sena executive president Uddhav Thackeray has also demanded resignation of deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar and home minister R R Patil.

Chief minister Prithviraj Chavan met the governor on Friday and briefed him about the incident.

Three persons were killed and several injured in police firing in Maval near Pune on Tuesday following the protests over a closed pipeline project to supply water to the industrial township of Pimpri-Chinchwad town.