MUMBAI: Thousands of Dalits, who rank at the lower end of India’s ancientcaste hierarchy, disrupted traffic and threw stones at buses in Mumbai onTuesday as they protested against violence in a nearby city in which a manwas killed.

The protest came a day after celebrations by Dalits in Pune, 150 km (95miles) from Mumbai, of the 200th anniversary of a battle they won, fightingalongside British colonial forces, against an upper caste ruler, weremarred by clashes with right-wing Hindu groups.

Those clashes resulted in the death of a 28-year-old man, according to theMaharashtra state government. It was not immediately clear which side theman was on.

Tuesday, Dalit protesters threw stones at buses in various parts of Mumbai,while rail services on a main line across the city were disrupted, said asenior police official who declined to be identified as he is notauthorized to speak to the media.

“Traffic has been disrupted in the eastern part of the city afterprotesters blocked a few roads,” the official said.

More than 100 protesters were arrested, and Dalit leaders have called formore protests in Mumbai and elsewhere in Maharashtra state on Wednesday.

Government authorities appealed for calm.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has ordered a judicial inquiryinto the clashes in Pune.

India has about 200 million Dali, who were previously known asuntouchables, and many suffer social deprivation and economic exclusion.