One civilian and four police officers were injured after demonstrators from Dalit communities in Mumbai called for a “raasta roko” (road block) on Tuesday, The Indian Express reported. They called for protests a day after a man was killed in clashes during celebrations to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Bhima Koregaon near Pune in Maharashtra.

The protestors stopped traffic on the Sion-Panvel highway near Chembur and were marching towards Ambedkar Garden when the police stopped them. They also held demonstrations at Amar Mahal Junction in Chembur and damaged the entrance to the Shiv Sena office, The Indian Express reported.

A number of shops in the neighbourhoods of Powai, Mulund, Mankhurd, Bhandup and Govandi shut down for the day in anticipation of violence, DNA reported.

Shripad Kale, senior inspector at the Mulund Police Station, said the protestors did not force anyone to shut shops. “Seeing the massive rallies, people shut shops,” Kale told Scroll.in. “They met the DCP and requested stern action against people involved in the Bhima Koregoan incident.”

Kale said the situation was under control. “There were no incidents of stone pelting in our jurisdiction,” he added.

Police said they had detained over 100 people from different locations, ANI reported.

The protests also affected local train services between Chembur and Govandi on the Harbour line on Tuesday afternoon. Earlier in the day, the police had stopped protestors from stalling train services.

However, special train services were started on the Harbour line in the evening, between Chattrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus, Kurla and Mankhurd.

Schools and colleges in several parts of Mumbai were closed after the protests began. The Mumbai Police clarified that prohibitory orders under Section 144 had not been imposed in Chembur or other eastern suburbs of the city.

Prakash Ambedkar, the grandson of Babasaheb Ambedkar, has called for a strike across Maharashtra on Wednesday, The Times of India reported. The Republican Party of India has decided to hold dharnas outside all police stations in Mumbai, as well.

Gujarat MLA and Dalit leader Jignesh Mevani is also likely to visit Mumbai on Wednesday, Times Now reported.

Buses vandalised in Pune district

Meanwhile, buses were vandalised in Hadapsar and Fursungi in Pune district on Tuesday. Bus services to Ahmednagar and Aurangabad were suspended in the morning, but resumed later in the day, ANI reported.

On Monday, individuals with saffron flags had reportedly pelted stones at cars going towards Bhima Koregaon village, where lakhs of people gather every New Year’s Day to commemorate the victory of the English, whose troops comprised mostly of Mahar soldiers, against the Brahmin Peshwa-led Maratha Empire in 1818.

“Among the five injured, one person succumbed late in the evening at Sassoon General hospital,” an unidentified police official told the Hindustan Times.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Tuesday announced Rs 10 lakh in compensation for the kin of the deceased, and said the Crime Investigation Department would conduct an inquiry into the person’s death. He added that the Maharashtra government would request the Supreme Court for a judicial inquiry into the Bhima Koregaon violence.

Around 40 vehicles, including a police van and two-wheelers, were torched, Pune (Rural) Police told The Times of India. The situation was under control by 7 pm, Inspector General of Police (Kolhapur range) Vishwas Nangre-Patil told the newspaper.

“So far, no arrests have been made.” he said. “We have cordoned off the roads leading to the Koregaon memorial...Heavy police bandobast has been deployed...A majority of the miscreants were hiding in the farms along the Pune-Ahmednagar highway and pelting stones.”

Inspector Kunte of the Shirur Police Station on Monday had told Scroll.in that officers were also stationed at Vadhu Budruk, the village where Sambhaji Maharaj, the son of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, was murdered. This is also the village of Ganpat Gaikwad, who belonged to the Mahar caste and had conducted Sambhaji’s last rites in defiance of an imperial order from Aurangzeb. Kunte confirmed that there was an attack at Gaikwad’s memorial last week.