Ten people were arrested after more than a dozen, including a few policemen, were injured in clashes in Patna’s Phulwari Sharif locality on Saturday night, Hindi daily Jagran reported.
The area had been tense since the morning after two groups almost came to blows. The police had then stepped in and defused the situation.
The clashes reportedly broke out in the evening after unidentified gunmen on bikes shot at people at an Eid Milad-un-Nabi procession. In the ensuing violence, an angry mob torched a number of vehicles, ransacked shops and set a few houses ablaze, Hindi newspaper Hindustan reported.
Senior police officers, including Inspector General (Patna zone) Nayyar Hasnain Khan and Deputy Inspector General Rajesh Kumar, visited the neighbourhood and deployed around 300 policemen and Rapid Action Force personnel. The police had to fire tear gas shells and charge the protestors with batons to bring the situation under control, Bhopal Samachar reported.
“The situation is tense but under control in the area,” Kumar was quoted as saying by The Times of India. The police conducted searches till late Saturday night to nab the violent agitators.
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