Security in the Maharashtra state secretariat in Mumbai was on Wednesday thrown into disarray as over 40 Dalit women tried to force their way into the Cabinet meeting to protest the killing of four members of their community in Bhandara district.
The protestors, who gained entry into Mantralaya, the secretariat in south Mumbai, using visitors' passes in small groups, later gathered outside the venue of the Cabinet meet and tried to force their way inside.
They were later bundled into two police vans and taken to nearby Marine Lines police station.
Some protestors suffered minor injuries as they were involved in a scuffle with women police constables posted at the secretariat.
Mumbai Police Commissioner A N Roy, who rushed to the spot, took senior security officials to task over the incident.
Security was later stepped at the secretariat, so much so that even some legislators and journalists found it tough to gain entry.
Deputy Chief Minister R R Patil said, "Some organisations were trying to exploit the killings to gain political mileage.
"The state government has ordered a probe. We are even ready to hand over the case to the Central Bureau of Investigation," Patil, who is also the home minister, said.
So far, Patil said, 44 persons have been arrested and charged with murder in connection with the rape and murder of a Dalit family at Khairlanji village in Bhandara in September.
The killing has sparked violent protests by Dalits over the last three days in Nagpur, Kamptee and Yavatmal district in Vidarbha region.