As the agitation spread to new areas of the state today, the state government rushed DGP A S Gill to talk to Gujjar leader Kirori Singh Bhainsala who said he was ready to talk to the government but made it clear the agitation would continue till their demand was met.
Police opened fire when a mob of Gujjars, protesting the police firing on their community members in Bayana in Bharatpur district yesterday and pressing for ST status, stormed the police station at Sikendra in Daussa district after overpowering the policemen and set it on fire, SHO Bane Singh said.
With this, the death count in two days of firing and clashes between Gujjars and police mounted to 26 of whom 16 lost their lives yesterday.
"The situation is extremely tense and additional police force has been requisitioned to handle the situation," Singh said.
Police had opened fire on Gujjar agitators at Philpura village of Bayana yesterday when they pelted stones on them after tear gas shells failed to disperse the protestors who damaged the railway tracks.
Eight hundred armymen were deployed today in violence-hit Dhumiria and Karwari villages of Bayana tehsil, the scene of yesterday's violence by Gujjars, joining the CRPF and Rapid Action Force to restore law and order.
