AHMEDABAD, April 18: A minor road accident involving two two-wheelers belonging to the people of two communities led to a communal clash in Gujarat’s Vadodara city on Sunday night, a day before the prime minister Narendra Modi is due to arrive in his home state for a three-day visit.
The communal clash led the rioters to throw stones, vandalising a shrine and damaging some vehicles, police said on Monday adding that three persons were injured.
Police have so far arrested 22 for rioting after the incident including three held for the road accident, the police said. A Karelibaug police station official said the clash broke out following the road accident in the city’s Raopura locality. As an argument ensued in no time people from two communities gathered and hurled stones at each other in the Karelibaug locality, neighbouring the Raopura area.
A mob vandalised the idol at a shrine located on the roadside as well as two autorickshaws and as many two-wheelers, the police official said. Two separate FIRs were registered at Raopura and Karelibaug police stations for the accident and rioting, respectively. Various sections of the Indian Penal Code for rioting, unlawful assembly, holding deadly weapons, defiling the place of worship with intent to insult the religion of any class have been invoked in the Karelibaug FIR against a group of named and unidentified accused.
“All the 19 persons named in the Karelibaug FIR for rioting were arrested during the combing operation carried out last night. Efforts are on to nab the unidentified accused,” Also, out of 8-10 accused against whom an FIR was lodged at the Raopura police station related to the road accident, three were caught, he said.
Security has been tightened in the area and the situation is under control now, the police said. “Two companies of the State Reserve Police (SRP) personnel have been deployed in sensitive areas and patrolling increased under all police stations,” the police added.
(Manas Dasgupta)
