The Hindu : Indefinite curfew in Ahmedabad

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Apr 13, 2002

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Indefinite curfew in Ahmedabad

By Manas Dasgupta

AHMEDABAD APRIL 13. An indefinite curfew was clamped on Viramgam town in Ahmedabad district and in areas under the Dani Limda police station in Ahmedabad city following fresh incidents of violence in trouble-torn Gujarat on Thursday.

The army units were called out of the cantonment barracks to stage a flag march in Dani Limda as the people belonging to the rival communities were fighting a pitched battle since Wednesday night and the situation deteriorated on Thursday evening when groups of people indulged in arson setting fire to houses.

According to the local Congress member of the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation, Jayantilal Parmar, more than half-a-dozen houses of Dalits in three residential colonies were set afire by the minority neighbourers, who threw burning rags and other missiles from the rooftops. The people of the rival groups also indulged in throwing stones at each other and hurling acid bombs, petrol bombs and other crude missiles.

At least four boys were injured on Thursday morning when some crude bombs they were carrying exploded in their hands. The incident caused tension in the locality as the rival groups came out facing each other but a clash was averted by timely intervention of the police.

The police, however, could not save the situation when the two groups regrouped and indulged in heavy stone throwing causing injuries to at least 10 persons. The police immediately imposed an indefinite curfew instead of the night curfew, which was in force in the area for the last 10 days.

An indefinite curfew was clamped on Viramgam town on Thursday afternoon following tension over the arrest of the BJP municipal president in connection with the communal disturbances last week. A police spokesman said the curfew was clamped as a precautionary measure as groups of people came out on the streets as reports spread of the arrest. The municipal president, the police said, was allegedly involved in some incidents of arson and leading group clashes in the town. He is among the very few ruling party leaders in the State to be arrested in connection with the riots.

In Ahmedabad, the fragile peace witnessed in the last few days was disturbed by stray incidents of stone throwing and group clashes in Dariapur police station areas also. But the police said despite the stray incidents, there would be no change in the curfew situation in the 10 police station areas in the city where only night curfew remain in force.

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