The police proceeded with caution as they did not want to escalate the situation (PTI)
At the end of a day of violent protests in Mumbai and surrounding areas, especially Kalamboli in Raigad district, a tense standoff between protesters demanding 16 per cent quota for the Maratha community and the police, became a full-blown confrontation between the 80 policemen and the nearly 300 protesters.
Earlier in the day, the Sion-Panvel highway that connects the Mumbai-Pune Expressway and is the main route between the two cities had been blocked at Vashi and Kalamboli. The four-hour blockade at Vashi ended after 3 pm, but the standoff at Kalamboli continued for longer.
At Vashi, in Navi Mumbai, the police had to use force to evict the protesters from the road after they refused to leave even after the strike had been called off by their counterparts in Mumbai. Buses were hit with stones and the police gave the protesters a chase till they were completely off the highway. Several buses were seen speeding away as the protesters threw huge stones, putting stranded passengers at great risk.
At Kalamboli, the protesters refused to budge even after the highway was opened to traffic at 5 pm. What ensued was a three-hour standoff between the police and protesters and the areas resembled a war zone with the protesters throwing stones and setting a tyre on fire to provoke the police into engaging them.
The police proceeded with caution as they did not want to escalate the situation.
In the meantime, they called for more forces, which arrived at 7 pm and it was only after then that the police decided to make the final move to clear the protesters from getting close to the highway.
At Kalamboli, the protesters refused to budge even after the highway was opened to traffic at 5 pm (PTI)
Several television reporters positioned themselves at a corner with a view of both sides and from the spot presented the standoff live to their viewers as the protesters continued to throw stones. Some of them were seen making indecent gestures to get some kind of reaction from the policemen, who were now getting ready to push back the protesters from the spot from where they could target the highway again even as the stones continued to be thrown at the police.
At this point, two men who were earlier seen trying to pacify the crowd walked toward the policemen, trying to find a solution to the situation without a forceful engagement. But the hopes of that happening were dashed when the protesters started throwing stones again. The stones missed the reporters and camerapersons covering the standoff, who narrowly who had to duck and swerve to avoid being hit by the projectiles.
At 7:30 pm, with additional force, the police moved forward to charge at the mob that was getting increasingly aggressive. They had by now blocked more than half the road with a burning tyre and showed no intention of backing off.
As the police charged toward the crowd, they threw stones but had to back off as the police were now firing tear gas shells. The lathicharge saw the group that had gathered for the entire day scattered in two lanes.
At this point, some of the protesters were apprehended by the policemen. Even after they were pushed back into two lanes the protesters were attempting to regroup and target the contingent of policemen who by now had successfully pushed them back.
Around fifteen minutes later, the police began pulling back toward the highway after successfully having managed to disperse the crowd.
Not only did the policemen have to save themselves but they ensured that the media contingent was also protected because the crowd had become violent and was looking for an altercation to indulge in violence.
Finally, at little before 8 pm, the entire stretch was cleared of protesters and several among them who were detained by the police were taken away in police keeps for legal action.