MUMBAI: At least four people died and dozens were hurt yesterday as low-caste Hindus rioted in the western Indian state of Maharashtra over the vandalism of a statue of their leader, police said.

A mob representing a political faction of what are locally referred to as Dalits targeted buildings and vehicles to protest the alleged vandalism several days ago of a statue of their late leader B R Ambedkar, in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh.

Protesters said they were angry that a statue of Ambedkar, a low-caste Hindu who authored India's democratic constitution that prohibits caste-based discrimination, had been damaged on Wednesday.

"We want police to arrest those who broke Baba Saheb's (Ambedkar's) statue. Otherwise, we will burn Maharashtra," a man shouted before being dragged away by police in Mumbai.

"We have arrested dozens of these rioters across the state," Maharashtra police chief P S Pasricha said, confirming three deaths but not the cause.

He also said there was sporadic street violence yesterday in Mumbai, the country's financial capital, related to the incident.

Violence was also witnessed in several other towns in Maharashtra as protesters hurled stones and burned trains, buses and other transport.

Schools and shops closed as mobs spread in the Mumbai suburb of Thane, and police used steel-tipped batons and fired tear gas to disperse them in the suburb as well as in the city, police said.