On Wednesday, Maharashtra police acted with utmost restraint when Dalit protesters went on rampage to enforce statewide bandh. It is true that caste violence in Maharashtra never erupted before in this manner when Maratha and Dalits came face-to-face. There seems to be some conspiracy at work behind this violence, but the restraint exercised by police is commendable. Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis chose not to commit the mistake done by his counterpart in neighbouring Gujarat, where police took action against Dalits, and this gave rise to emergence of local Dalit leaders. Fadnavis learnt the lesson, and he asked the police force to exercise utmost restraint. Congress and other opposition leaders were waiting to take political advantage, had there been a major conflagration, but they were disappointed.