Patil informed that after the sole survivor of the Bhotmange family — four of which were brutally killed in Khairlanji — had met him earlier this week and the sarpanch and the deputy sarpanch of the Khairlanji village had been arrested in the case. He also said the decision to declare a holiday for schools in Mumbai on December 6, when lakhs of Dalits would visit Dadar to pay tributes to Dr Ambedkar on his 50th death anniversary, would be taken after discussing the issue at an all-party meeting on Saturday.

17 held for torching Deccan Queen

MUMBAI: AS many as 52 persons were arrested from Mumbai’s suburbs in connection with the rioting and damage to buses, trains and public property in several areas on Thursday. More arrests are likely, the police said. The Thane Police have arrested 35 persons, while the Government Railway Police unit at the Lok Marg police station in Kalyan have held 17 people for the torching of seven coaches of the Pune-Mumbai Deccan Queen at Ulhasnagar station. —ENS