Pune, Sep 8 (PTI) A man was detained after he threw `Bhandara’ (turmeric powder) on Maharashtra dairy development minister Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil while demanding the Scheduled Tribes status for the Dhangar community at Solapur on Friday, police said.
A video of the incident, which took place at the government circuit house, showed two men standing besides Vikhe Patil who is also the guardian minister of Solapur district.
While the minister was reading some papers, one of them took out turmeric powder from his pocket and poured it on Vikhe Patil’s head.
The man was identified as Shekhar Bangale.
The video showed the other people nearby grabbing him and beating him as he shouted slogans demanding reservation for the Dhangar community in the ST category.
He wanted to draw the government’s attention to the problems faced by the Dhangar community, Bangale told mediapersons.
The incident took place at a time when the Maratha community’s agitation for reservation has taken centre stage with an activist’s hunger strike in Latur district.
Vikhe Patil later told reporters that he considered the `Bhandara’ (which is typically thrown around during the processions and rituals associated with the deity Khandoba) as a blessing, and asked police not to file a case against Bangale. PTI COR KRK
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