Mumbai, December 1 : The state government has refused permission to the proposed Dalit rally against “atrocities on Dalits” in Nagpur on December 4, the opening day of the Assembly’s winter session. Prakash Amedkar, leader of the Bharatiya Republican Party - Bahujan Mahasangh, who would be leading the rally, however, struck a defiant note saying it won’t be called off despite the government decision.

“The permission for the morcha has been denied by the Commissioner of Police, Nagpur. The decision has been intimated to the organisations concerned,” Deputy Chief Minister R R Patil said on Friday after a meeting called by Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh to review the law and order situation in the state.

Ambedkar said, “The morcha, under the banner of Nagpur Samata Manch, will be taken out as scheduled on December 4 even if they don’t grant us permission.” Communist leaders Brinda Karat and D Raja would participate, he informed.

Calling the reaction to the Kanpur incident, where the statue of Babasaheb Ambedkar was desecrated, natural, Deshmukh said, “Up to a limit, such protests also have the sympathy of others (non-Dalits). But when they turn violent, they lose sympathy.” He admitted that police faced a problem tackling leaderless mob with women and children.

Announcing a probe by the state intelligence department, he said, “Additional Director General (Law and Order) Sanjeev Dayal would conduct an inquiry into the incidents of anti-social elements burning five bogies of the Mumbai-Pune Deccan Queen and three compartments of a suburban train,” he said.

Two persons were killed, 38 police personnel and 150 others were injured in the riots, he said adding curfew had been imposed in towns like Nanded and Osmanabad. Besides, 310 government vehicles, 250 private vehicles, 198 shops, 5 bogies of Deccan Queen and 3 bogies of a local train were damaged in the violence. Over 2,000 persons had been arrested and the situation was under control and was returning to normal, he said.

Patil informed that after the sole survivor of the Bhotmange family — four of which were brutally killed in Khairlanji — had met him earlier this week and the sarpanch and the deputy sarpanch of the Khairlanji village had been arrested in the case. He also said the decision to declare a holiday for schools in Mumbai on December 6, when lakhs of Dalits would visit Dadar to pay tributes to Dr Ambedkar on his 50th death anniversary, would be taken after discussing the issue at an all-party meeting on Saturday.

17 held for torching Deccan Queen

MUMBAI: AS many as 52 persons were arrested from Mumbai’s suburbs in connection with the rioting and damage to buses, trains and public property in several areas on Thursday. More arrests are likely, the police said. The Thane Police have arrested 35 persons, while the Government Railway Police unit at the Lok Marg police station in Kalyan have held 17 people for the torching of seven coaches of the Pune-Mumbai Deccan Queen at Ulhasnagar station. —ENS