In November and December 2006, the desecration of an Ambedkar statue in Kanpur triggered off violent protests by Dalits in Maharashtra, India.
[2] Several people remarked that the protests were fueled by the Khairlanji killings,[2][3] including the Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh,[4] and the Mumbai Police Commissioner A. N.
[5] According to The Hindu, the political parties had not responded appropriately to the outrage over the Khairlanji killings, resulting in heightened tensions.
Some of the protestors started pelting stones at passing vehicles, injuring six persons, including sub-inspector and a constable.
[5] In Akola, a truck was set on fire on the national highway, and there was heavy stone-pelting on State Transport buses.
[8] Some compartments of a commuter train were also torched at Ulhasnagar, and the police fired in the air to control the violent crowds.
[5] Incidents of protestors setting up road blocks and pelting stones were reported in Mumbai suburbs like Kanjurmarg, Mulund, Bhandup, Trombay, Kurla, Kalina, Chembur, Kurar in Malad, Goregaon, Pali Hill in Bandra, and Worli.
The police reported that gangster Chhota Rajan's brother Deepak Nikhalje was responsible for violence in Chembur.
[8] Police used lathi charge and fired in the air at Kherwadi junction on the Western Express highway in Vakola, after an angry mob blocked traffic and indulged in stone pelting.
A Municipal Transport Corporation bus going from Kalyan to Dombivili was set on fire at Manpada by a violent mob.
Later, the Kanpur Police arrested a Dalit youth Arun Kumar Balmiki for desecrating the Ambedkar statue.
[10] Earlier in a similar case, a Dalit youth was held for desecrating an Ambedkar statue in Gulbarga, Karnataka.
[4] In Kanpur, a Congress delegation, led by former bureaucrat P. L. Punia sat on a dharna (strike), when the District Magistrate and the Senior Superintendent of Police prevented them from visiting the site of desecration.