Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Jun 22 (PTI) Police lathi-charged a group of farmers at a sugarcane farm in Tandulwadi area of Dharashiv district, an official said on Sunday amid criticism by the Opposition after a video of the incident went viral.
A police official confirmed the "mild" lathicharge, claiming some farmers were carrying inflammable substances with them.
"We resorted to mild lathicharge amid a possibility that the inflammable substance might have caused a fire and put the life of 20-25 people present at the spot in danger," the official said.
Leader of Opposition Ambadas Danve of Shiv Sena (UBT) demanded action against the police personnel captured on the video beating farmers.
"We condemn this incident. How can such acts be allowed in a people-oriented government?" he stated on X.
Danve's party colleague and Osmanabad MP Omprakash Raje Nimbalkar said the incident reminds him of "Razakars" (the erstwhile militia during the reign of Nizam of Hyderabad).
"Injustice is meted out to people in the name of windmill projects. The lathicharge incident has caused anguish," he wrote on X.
Nimbalkar claimed one of two companies had not compensated land owners after setting up windmills.
"When a farmer, identified as Ganesh Sherkar, demanded compensation, he was badly beaten up with a sugarcane from his own farm. Does this government belong to the people of the state or companies? This is dictatorship," he alleged.