Thousands of tribal activists carried out a peaceful march in the state capital today to protest against the arrest of five tribal leaders in connection with the Balli violence that had taken place on May 25.

United Tribal Associations Alliance (UTAA), an umbrella organisation of tribal associations, held the protests against to condemn the arrest of the tribal leaders by the crime branch.

Panaji city turned into fortress with more than 1,500 policemen guarding the streets to avoid any untoward incident, with the arrival of around 10,000 tribals for the protest.

The agitators marched up to the historic Azad maidan, where leaders addressed the crowd.

"This is a peaceful protest. There will be not be any sloganeering or provocative speeches," UTAA special secretary Uday Gaonkar, who is leading the agitation, as all the main leaders are behind bars, said.

"The protest also intends to draw attention of the residents of Panaji towards the issues of scheduled tribes and also to expose the harassment that tribal communities are being subjected to by the state government," he added.

Five leaders including two BJP legislators Ramesh Tawadkar and Vasudeo Meng Gaonkar, UTAA president Prakash Velip and executive committee members Mhalu Velip and Govind Gawade were arrested in connection with violence at Balli village, 50 kms away from Panaji in May this year.

The tribal activists had clashed with police and locals during the protests which were held to demand for the implementation of reservation in the government jobs.

Two tribal leaders were burnt to death in the violence. State government has already instituted a judicial inquiry into the incident.