Under pressure from the opposition over the violent protests in parts of Maharashtra, Home Minister Rajnath Singh is likely to make a statement in Parliament on Wednesday, officials said.

“The government has no hesitation in issuing a clarification on the ongoing protests… The Home Minister (Rajnath Singh) is therefore likely to issue a statement in the house,” sources in the government said.

Angry Dalits staged rail and road blockades and took out processions in Mumbai and carried out agitations in different parts of Maharashtra on Tuesday to protest against violence in Pune a day ago which left one youth dead.

While the violence subsided on Wednesday, a ‘peaceful Maharashtra shutdown’ called by the Bharipa Bahujan Mahasangh, a Dalit party headed by Prakash Ambedkar – the grandson of Bharat Ratna BR Ambedkar led to several schools, colleges and offices remaining closed.

On Tuesday afternoon, thousands of Dalits took to the streets in Chembur, Mankhurd, Ghatkopar, Bhandup and other strongholds in north-eastern parts of the city demanding action against the perpetrators of the Pune riots.

Scores of Dalit youth blocked the Harbor Line of Central Railway near Chembur on Tuesday afternoon, leading to stoppage of the local train services for hours.

Several lakhs of commuters were stranded on stations or in stationary trains and many preferred to walk on the railway tracks to their destinations.

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis announced a judicial probe by a sitting High Court judge and a CID investigation into Monday’s violence in Koregaon-Bhima.

The disturbances erupted in the village of Koregaon-Bhima on January 1 during the 200th anniversary celebrations of the Anglo-Maratha War between the army of Peshwa Bajirao II with a small force of the East India Company that comprised a large number of Dalits.

Several lakhs of Dalits had congregated around the Victory Pillar (Vijay Stambh) erected by the British in Sanaswadi village when suddenly stone pelting started, allegedly by some right-wing groups carrying saffron flags.

In the clashes that ensued between the two groups, more than 30 vehicles, including buses, police vans and private vehicles, were torched or damaged and one youth, Rahul Fatangale, 28 of Nanded lost his life.