NAGPUR, June 2: The body of Tarachand Sahare (55), who set himself ablaze on May 27 to press demand for arrest of those who desecrated the statue of Dr Ambedkar at Trisharan Chowk here, was cremated this morning.Tension over the self-immolation by the Dalit leader, following his death on Sunday night, had reached a flash point here yesterday.Refusal of dalit activists led by Sahare's wife to allow cremation of the body unless Chief Minister Manohar Joshi or his Deputy Gopinath Munde visited the spot and assured arrest of the culprits, vitiated the atmosphere in the area. This tension also resulted in several cases of arson and violence.Police had to resort to lathi-charge and firing of tear gas shells to control the mob. Till, late last night, the mob had rejected the settlement reached by the Dalit leaders with a team of top government officials which included the district collector Malini Shankar and also Commissioner of Police P K B Chakraborty.
