As at least 15 more people were killed in police firing during the ongoing Gurjjar agitation today, the Rajasthan government invited Kirori Singh Bainsla, the ex-Armyman who now heads the Gurjjar Arakshan Sangharsh Samiti, for talks tomorrow with Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje Scindia. The invitation was made through the media today by the state Home Minister. With today’s deaths, the toll in the two-day violence is up to 31.

This came soon after the state government ordered the transfer of the DM and SP of both Bharatpur and Kaurali districts, where most of the violence has occurred. All the four officers awaited fresh postings.

Sources said the firing today was carried out by personnel of the CRPF and the Rapid Action Force after Gurjjar agitators attacked the police.The Gurjjars are demanding that the state government recommend to the Centre to grant Scheduled Tribe status to their community.

Exactly a year ago, the Gurjjar agitation had led to a weeklong blockade of the Delhi-Jaipur highway. The protests were called off after the state government set up a committee under former Rajasthan High Court Judge Jasraj Chopra.

The committee deliberated for several months and then submitted a report that questioned the criteria under which the ST status of a community is determined. While recommending a detailed socio-economic special package for the Gurjjar community — which currently falls in the state’s OBC category — the Chopra committee observed that it was not its mandate to change criteria for granting ST status.

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