The authorities in Maharashtra’s Beed have imposed prohibitory orders in the district till January 28 due to protests sparked by the murder of a sarpanch and agitations by quota activists from the Maratha and the Other Backward Classes communities, PTI reported on Tuesday.

The assembly of five or more persons without permission has been banned till January 28. Carrying weapons in public places is also prohibited.

Santosh Deshmukh, the sarpanch of Massajog village in Beed, was abducted and killed on December 9 allegedly for opposing an attempt by some persons to extort Rs 2 crore from a windmill company in the district.

Deshmukh’s body was found on a road near his village. The post-mortem indicated that he died because of haemorrhage and shock caused by several injuries. Seven persons have been arrested in the case while one suspect is on the run, according to PTI.

Leaders of the ruling Mahayuti alliance and the Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi in Maharashtra have been demanding justice for Deshmukh.

In the neighbouring Jalna district, activist Manoj Jarange-Patil has announced plans to start an indefinite hunger strike on January 25 to press for reservations for the Maratha community in government jobs and education under the Other Backward Classes category. This will be his seventh strike to press for the demands.

Activists from the Other Backward Classes group have been protesting to ensure that their share of reservations is not disturbed.

Among those arrested for Deshmukh’s murder is Walmik Karad, an aide of Maharashtra minister Dhananjay Munde.

Munde was wanted in an extortion case linked to the sarpanch’s murder.

Before surrendering in the case, Karad posted a video on social media claiming that he was being linked to the murder due to political vendetta.

On January 5, the Maharashtra Police booked Jarange-Patil for allegedly making defamatory remarks about Munde in connection with the murder.

The Maratha community’s long-standing demand for reservations in education and government jobs resurfaced in 2023 with protests led by Jarange-Patil. The movement witnessed violence, suicides and the resignations of legislators.

On February 20, Maharashtra’s legislature passed a bill allowing for the creation of a 10% quota in education and government jobs for the Maratha community. This would in addition to the state’s 52% reservation quota, which includes a 10% quota for the Economically Weaker Section.

On August 1, justifying its recommendation for the 10% quota for Marathas, the Maharashtra State Backward Class Commission told the Bombay High Court that the community had been “pushed to the dark edges of mainstream society”.

The introduction of the 10% quota is similar to the 16% reservation for Marathas under the Other Backward Classes category that was introduced in 2018 by the state’s previous government, comprising the Bharatiya Janata Party and the undivided Shiv Sena.

That decision was blocked by the Supreme Court in 2021, citing the 50% cap on a state’s total reservations that the court had ordered in 1992. The court said that there were no “exceptional circumstances” or “extraordinary situation” in Maharashtra for the state government to breach the limit on reservations.

Jarange-Patil has insisted that reservations for Marathas be given under the Other Backward Classes category, on the grounds that the separate quota exceeds the constitutional ceiling of 50% and would likely be struck down by the judiciary.

Jarange-Patil has also demanded that Kunbi caste certificates be provided to all Marathas. The Kunbis form a sub-caste within the Maratha community. They are included in the Other Backward Classes.