District Superintendent of Police (DSP) G C Malik told The Indian Express on telephone the six persons, including the sarpanch, had been arrested for causing grievous injuries to the Dalits. The six have also been charged under the Atrocities Act and lodged in judicial custody. Five accused are still absconding.

Sanjay Dalpat Vaghela (23), who is undergoing treatment here, has received 25 stitches on his head and two fractures in the left foot. The other injured are Bhupat Prabhudas, Jitendra Vaghela and Pravin Jasubhai.

Though old rivalry is believed to have prompted the attack, the immediate provocation was Dalit boys playing volleyball on a playground near Harijan Vaas. ``The Kolis did not want the Dalit boys to playthere,'' says Valjibhai Patel of the Council for Social Justice, who has taken up cudgels for the Dalits.

Sanjay Vaghela recounted the course of events from his hospital bed, ``I was sitting under a lamp post near our locality with my friends when a mob of about 100 people charged at us. They were armed with axes, sharp weapons, pipes and hockey sticks.''

According to Sanjay, the mob abused and started beating them up. ``The others managed to escape from the site. Since I am on crutches (his legs are polio-affected), I was unable to leave the place and suffered serious injuries,'' he said.

Vaghela said the volleyball ground had been a bone of contention between the two groups for quite some time. ``They used to come to the ground often and ask us to leave the place. They claimed that it was meant for them and we could not use it'', he said.

Valjibhai questioned the role played by the local police. ``The complainant was not given a copy of the first information report till November 11 despite the factthat the report was filed on November 9. The copy was provided by the district superintendent of police's office only after an affidavit was produced in this regard,'' he alleged.

Patel has also requested the police to add the offence of attempt to kill in the FIR. ``The mob had come with sharp-edged weapons and brutally beaten up the victims. Despite the serious injuries, the offence was not mentioned in the FIR,'' he said.