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A day after Dalit youth went on rampage in Nagpur and other parts of Maharashtra alleging the State Government's "inaction" against upper caste people accused of killing four members of a Dalit family in Bhandara district, curfew was imposed in Kamptee town on the outskirts of Nagpur and in Yavatmal and Wardha districts on 8 November 2006. In Mumbai Deputy Chief Minister and Home Minister RR Patil announced a CID inquiry into the murder of Khairlanji Dalit family. CID would complete its probe in 30 days, he said adding, if the investigation was unsatisfactory, the case would be given to CBI. He said the case would be tried in a fast track court. He acknowledged that the police were slow to issue an FIR in the original attack against Siddharth Gajbhiye (that subsequently led to the murder of the Bhotmanges) and that they should have filed the case under the Atrocities Act. Denying reports that the accused were freed on bail, Nagpur range police chief Pankaj Gupta said all the 44 accused were in police custody. They also refuted the allegations made by the Dalits that the woman and her daughter were gang-raped or they were paraded naked before being killed. Dalit leaders demand CBI probe Dalit leaders led by Republican Party of India (RPI) leader Ramdas Athwale demanded a judicial as well as Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the gruesome murder of the Dalit family in Bhandara district. The Dalit delegation met with Deputy Chief Minister RR Patil to air their grievances against the police ‘mishandling of the case’, even as street violence continued in Nagpur for the second day. Terming the violence as spontaneous reaction to police insensitivity in handling the case, Athawale said the delegation wanted an assurance from Patil about a speedy and just trial in this case. The gruesome murders and ensuing Dalit violence could spell trouble for the ruling alliance in the upcoming municipal council elections. It could also lead to bad blood between the allies Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and Republican Party of India (RPI). Patil caught on a back foot requested the delegation to quell violence. He assured the Dalit leaders that the state police machinery would ``not spare the guilty’’. "This case is going to be heard in a fast track court to ensure speedy justice. We have also decided to appoint Ujjwal Nikam as the prosecutor in this case. The sole surviving member of the family will be rehabilitated and given land,’’ said Patil. The Home Minister added that soon a government resolution would be issued that would make it the responsibility of the local police to take special care and ensure security of Dalit or backward class homes in largely upper-caste villages.
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