The protests for reservation in education and jobs for Marathas has once again turned violent, this time in Pune, as agitators torched at least 40 buses and damaged another 50 on Monday afternoon.

The protesters behind vandalism are suspected to be from the Maratha Kranti Morcha, the same group that led the multi-day Maharashtra-wide agitation over reservation for Marathas last week.

The buses were set on fire at the Chakan industrial area on the Pune-Nashik highway on the city's outskirts. The sudden violence has affected traffic movement in the area and hundreds of commuters have been left stranded.

To control the situation, authorities have imposed Section 144 of the Indian Penal Code in the area that prohibits assembly of more than four people. Additional forces have been rushed to the spot.

The violence comes after two men committed suicide over demands for reservation for Marathas earlier in the day. While one man hung himself to death in Nanded, the other jumped in front of a train in Aurangabad.