Gujarat: Clashes break out in Khambhat, houses, shops set on fire

Clashes broke out between two communities at Akhbarpura area of Khambhat taluka in Gujarat's Anand district Sunday, where communally charged mobs set afire houses, shops, and vehicles. This is the second clash between the two communities within a month.

According to the police, the members of the two communities came face to face again on Sunday afternoon over their past clash on January 24 which had left one person dead. The two groups began pelting stones at each other and set the houses on fire.

"The situation has just been brought under control. Heavy police deployment has been placed in the area to maintain normalcy. We are assessing the damage done. Around 10 houses and shops have been set ablaze, the number could even be more. We are also assessing how many persons have been injured in the stone-pelting. We will then file an FIR," Khambhat police inspector Y R Chauhan said.

The violence prompted the police to resort to lathicharge and also lob tear gas shells to contain the situation. Police have also clamped an indefinite bandobast in the area with at least 100 policemen deployed to bring back normalcy.

According to sources, violence continued for over an hour before the police could bring back the situation to normalcy.

(Inputs from indianexpress.com)