Police fired teargas shells and lathicharged an angry group of Dalits that indulged in arson and violence in Indora in northern part of the city on Monday. They were protesting the killing of a Dalit family in Kherlanji in Bhandara district of Maharashtra, police said.

A large number of Dalit activists pelted stones and tried to set fire to the office of assistant commissioner of police at Indora and torched his vehicle, as well as other vehicles, including over 20 motorcycles, police said.

The Dalit family was killed allegedly by non-Dalits about two months back in Kherlanji over a property dispute.

Some media photographers were also the target of the protestors and their vehicles were among those damaged and set abalze, police added.

Police initially used mild force to disperse the Dalits but when the situation deteriorated, they resorted to cane charge and burst tear gas shells, the sources said.

The demonstrators also burnt tyres on the highway to block vehicular traffic.

Several top police officials, along with SRPF personnel and commando force, have rushed to the spot to control the situation, police added.

The exact number of injured persons and the number of damaged vehicles are yet to be ascertained, they added.