Caste protests across India leave at least seven dead

At least seven people were killed on Monday as protesters led by India's Dalits set fire to police posts and blocked railway tracks, local media said.

The protests come after the Supreme Court ruled last month that arrests under a law meant to speed action on complaints of violence against Dalits required prior sanction from officials and barred the immediate arrest of those accused in such complaints.

In its judgment the court said prior approval was required following the acknowledged abuse of provisions for arrest in such cases.

Four people were killed in the central state of Madhya Pradesh, where police also imposed a curfew, Indian television channels reported. Three others were killed in other states, local media said.

The "Bharat Bandh" (India shutdown) was called by groups representing the Dalits, formerly known as untouchables, who make up 200 million of India's 1.25 billion population and are at the bottom of the caste hierarchy.

Some protesters carried banners demanding a nationwide shutdown, while others held placards saying the judgment was diluting the law.

"Get out in strong numbers, block the roads if needed, but do not touch public property," Jignesh Mevani, an independent Dalit lawmaker from the western state of Gujarat, told the India Today news channel.

Although he backed the protests, Mevani said, he was opposed to any damage to public property.

Clashes across Indian states

Clashes with police, attacks on buses and government buildings and blocked trains and roads were reported in several Indian states.

Television showed police beating protesters and an unidentified person firing shots, with demonstrators in the northern state of Haryana also setting police posts ablaze and attacking shops.

Violence was reported from other states such as Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand and Bihar, while exams have been postponed and internet services have been shut down due to clashes in Punjab.

The death in Uttar Pradesh was in Muzaffarnagar. 

"Some 30 police and about 30-35 protesters were also injured, one of them seriously," said Praveen Kumar, the state police deputy inspector general.

Rahul Prakash, superintendent of police in Alwar in Rajasthan, said two or three people had been hit by bullets during clashes in the city. Police added that about 20 people had been injured.

Local media reports said that at least one more person had died in the western state of Rajasthan.

The four dead were in the central state of Madhya Pradesh, according to Rishi Kumar Shukla, director general of the state police. He insisted however that events had been brought "under control".

One of the dead was in Gwalior. 

"A curfew has been imposed in parts of the city and the protesters are still on the ground," Anshuman Yadav, police inspector general for Gwalior, told AFP news agency.

There were media reports of more deaths in Morena district of Madhya Pradesh, but police could not immediately confirm fatalities.

Trouble was also reported in the capital New Delhi.

Calls for calm

The 1989 Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act was intended to guard against the harassment of Dalits and other groups.

Rajnath Singh, India's home minister, called for calm.

"The government is appealing against the court order but it is a responsibility of everyone including all political parties to ensure peace," Singh told journalists in Delhi, where the Dalit protests caused traffic chaos.

Reports said a police outpost near Meerut in Uttar Pradesh was set on fire. Dalit men hurled stones at police and security personnel. Police in Azamgarh district told AFP that public buses were set on fire by protesters.

Discrimination against Dalits

Dalits are among the most marginalised groups in India, where caste discrimination is outlawed but remains widespread.

Last week a young Dalit farmer in Gujarat was beaten to death for owning a horse, which is seen as a symbol of power and wealth.

By the end of 2016, about 90 percent of roughly 145,000 cases involving Dalits were still awaiting trial, government data from last year showed.

Investigation showed that fewer than a tenth of the cases brought by Dalits in 2016 were proved false, according to government data.

Modi's government on Monday submitted a review petition to the court, asking it to amend the judgment, Home Minister Rajnath Singh said in a televised interview.

Hindus, who account for more than 85 percent of India's population of 1.3 billion, were traditionally grouped into thousands of castes, whose membership was determined by birth.