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Violence in Vadodara

By Our Special Correspondent

AHMEDABAD Dec. 15. An indefinite curfew has been clamped in the areas under Raopura and Karelibagh police station areas in Vadodara city as group clashes were witnessed following the victory processions taken out by the winning BJP candidates.

There were reports of a murder in Rajkot and incidents of stone-throwing, arson and minor clashes in Kalupur locality in Ahmedabad city, as well as Broach, Petlad, Dabhoi and some other towns.

In Vadodara, the trouble started when the victory procession of Yogesh Patel, who won from Raopura, was passing through the minority-dominated Machhipith locality. A few stones were hurled at the processionists who retaliated.

Trouble spread to the neighbouring Karelibagh locality, and the police burst about two-dozen teargas shells before imposing curfew. Late in the evening, the situation was said to be tense but under control.

In Ahmedabad, the procession taken out by the Energy Minister, Kaushik Patel, who emerged victorious from Shahpur, was reportedly stoned in Kalupur, also a minority-dominated area. This led to group clashes and a few shops were set on fire. Police burst 39 teargas shells to disperse the clashing groups.

The house and the shop of the losing Congress candidate for the Petlad seat, Niranjan Patel, was reportedly torched by the BJP workers celebrating their nominee's victory. Two teargas shells were burst in Dabhoi town to disperse the clashing groups while in Broach the mobs indulged in heavy stone-throwing.

The body of a BJP supporter was recovered from a riverbed after a clash between BJP-Congress supporters in Mafatiapara locality. Police, however, could not say if the killing was directly connected with the victory processions or was due to previous enmity.

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