Curfew in entire Indore as communal clashes spread

Mumbai News.Net
Friday 4th July, 2008 (IANS)

Tension escalated in this Madhya Pradesh town Friday with blanket curfew being imposed and one more person being killed, taking the death toll in the violence related to the Amarnath shrine board to five.

On Thursday, four people were killed as the shutdown called by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) took a communal turn, prompting the administration to clamp curfew in four police station areas.

But there was no let up in violence Friday with the tension spreading -- by 3 p.m. the administration had to extend the curfew to the entire city.

More than 100 people have been arrested as police launched search operations in sensitive areas.

'As many as 125 people have been taken into custody since Thursday's violence and more police forces have been deployed to take control of the situation,' Indore Inspector General Anil Kumar said.

District Magistrate Rakesh Choudhry described the situation as 'tense but under control'. He said the decision to relax the curfew would only be taken after taking stock of the situation in the morning.

The Jammu and Kashmir government Tuesday formally cancelled the land allotment to the Amarnath shrine board that manages the pilgrimage to the high altitude shrine dedicated to Lord Shiva. The decision polarised not just the state with violence in Hindu majority Jammu but led to a ripple effect in other parts of the country as well.

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