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Curfew calmped in Bhilwara

Special Correspondent

Clashes mark bandh in Rajasthan; policemen among several hurt

JAIPUR: Curfew was clamped in the Muslim-dominated Gulmandi area in Bhilwara town of Rajasthan on Thursday following a clash over forcible closure of shops during the State-wide bandh called by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party and Vishwa Hindu Parishad to protest against the terrorist attack in Ayodhya. Half a dozen persons, including two police officers, were injured in the incident.

Row over shops

The trouble began when Bajrang Dal activists forced their way into the narrow lanes of Gulmandi and demanded that the shops be closed to comply with the bandh call. A 13-year-old boy was injured in the scuffle, following which both the sides hurled stones on each other. A Deputy Superintendent of Police and a constable were among those who were injured.

The district administration decided to impose curfew, after the rioting mobs were dispersed, to prevent violence from spreading to other areas in the city. The situation will be reviewed on Friday morning to decide on the continuation of curfew.

Mixed response

Elsewhere in the State, the bandh call - supported by the BJP-led Government - evoked a mixed response with a majority of the shops and commercial establishments, educational institutions, petrol pumps and private offices remaining closed, while the vehicles were plying on roads as usual. However, the bus service of Rajasthan Roadways was suspended for the day.

The supporters of the bandh assaulted mediapersons in Raja Park area in Jaipur, when the latter were taking pictures of markets being forcibly closed, and smashed their cameras. A large number of journalists staged a dharna at Adarsh Nagar police station to protest against the incident, after which the District Collector reached the spot and ordered the arrest of Bajrang Dal workers responsible for the assault.

A stone-pelting incident, involving the Sangh Parivar activists enforcing the bandh and those opposing it, was reported from Pali, while the activists broke the windowpanes of a few cars and jeeps in Ajmer and Jodhpur. The rail traffic was normal except two incidents in Bharatpur and Baran, where a couple of trains were stopped for a while.

Raje's call

The offices of the State Government functioned normally despite the Chief Minister, Vasundhara Raje, calling upon the employees to participate in the bandh at a dharna staged by the State unit of BJP at Bari Chaupar in the Walled City here on Wednesday. However, there was a thin presence of officials in the Government offices.

In Sikar an angry mob blocked the Jaipur-Bikaner highway for nearly four hours to protest against the damage caused to a hotel by the BJP and VHP activists. Five persons were injured.

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