National

2 killed in Gujarat town

By Manas Dasgupta

AHMEDABAD May 30. Two persons were killed, one was burnt alive, in Kadi town in Mehsana district and bombs exploded in Vadodara and Godhra towns disrupting the fragile peace in the riot-torn Gujarat once again.

While the police are still clueless about the series of blasts in the municipal transport service buses here yesterday, three shops were set afire in Bharuch town this morning.

The disturbances in Kadi, the home district of the Chief Minister, Narendra Modi, sparked off from a bomb blast in an egg and omelette kiosk late last night. The police said someone had left a packet at the kiosk and the unsuspecting owner while trying to throw it away fell on a customer and the bomb went off.

The seriously injured person died on way to the hospital. The incident created panic in the town and a large number of people came out on the streets. The crowd stopped a State transport bus, dragged out its conductor and after severely beating him up burnt him alive.

An indefinite curfew was clamped in Kadi following the incidents, even as violent mobs kept indulging in throwing stones forcing the police to burst teargas shells and fire at least 10 rounds. The killing of the bus conductor created unrest among the State-owned S.T. Corporation staff but the authorities managed to convince the employees to continue to operate the services on other routes. Curfew was also clamped in Panigate locality in Vadodara city after groups of people took to the streets following a bomb explosion in Bawamanpura for the second consecutive night. The explosion ripped open the iron grills of a shop. The police fired seven rounds to disperse the stone pelting mobs. The police arrested about 50 people in an immediate combing operation. Curfew imposed in the night, however, was lifted in the morning and the day passed off incident-free. It, however, was not incident-free in Godhra, the scene of the February 27 train carnage.Two bomb explosions and an incident of stabbing in the town marred the curfew, which was relaxed four hours today. The curfew was immediately reimposed following the incidents. In Bharuch town in central Gujarat, at least three shops were set afire under the "B'' division police station. It was the second time in the last one month that the same shops were set afire.

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