The death toll in the nine-day long violent Jat reservation agitation in Haryana has touched 30, the state police chief said here on Friday.
Haryana’s Director General of Police (DGP) Y.P. Singhal said that 30 people lost their life, while over 200 people were injured in the violent agitation that paralysed life in the state. At least 10 Haryana districts were severely affected by the violence.
He also said that the Army, which was requisitioned by the Haryana government to control the volatile situation, would start withdrawing from the affected areas on Friday.
“Normalcy is fast returning to the state. All railway tracks and highways are functional and withdrawal of the army would begin today (on Friday) and continue in a phased manner,” the DGP said.
He said that 713 first information reports (FIRs) had been registered till Friday and 133 people have been arrested.
“Anyone who is found to have indulged in arson, hatching a conspiracy or vandalism would not be spared,” he added.
The violence during the agitation saw several government buildings, private shops, malls, educational institutions, hospitals and showrooms being set on fire by the hooligans. Hundreds of shops were looted and set on fire.
A trade and industry body has pegged the losses in Haryana due to the agitation at around Rs. 20,000 crore.
Rohtak bore the brunt of the Jat violence with hundreds of shops and other establishments, government and private buildings and educational institutions and private hospitals being set on fire and shops looted.
The Jat community was demanding reservation in government jobs and educational institutions.