Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Thursday said Aurangabad Police Commissioner Yashaswi Yadav had been sent on compulsory leave and an inquiry has been ordered against him after the police baton-charged villagers last week, The Times of India reported. The residents of Padegaon and Mitmita near Aurangabad city were protesting against garbage being dumped in their areas from the city.
“The investigation will be conducted by a committee headed by additional chief secretary [Home department],” Fadnavis told the Assembly. “The report will be submitted to the government within a month.”
The chief minister also noted that there were reports about protestors attacking police and assured the House that the entire matter would be thoroughly investigated, The Indian Express reported.
Earlier in the day, Leader of Opposition Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil brought up the matter in the Assembly, calling for Yadav’s suspension. Shiv Sena MLAs also joined the Opposition’s protests. The members disrupted the proceedings of the House and refused to back down despite Speaker Haribhau Bagde’s appeals, The Hindu reported. The Assembly was adjourned five times.
“There are reports substantiated by concrete evidence pointing to ill-treatment of the people who had taken to the streets against the dumping ground in Aurangabad,” Patil claimed in his speech. “The lathicharge and stone-pelting has badly injured the protesters, including women. Police commissioner badly tackled the protest. The government should immediately suspend the Aurangabad police chief.”
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