Gujarat: After Vadodara, communal clashes grip Ahmedabad ahead of Eid

law and order situation in Gujarat is deteriorating under the leadership of chief minister Anandiben Patel. Days after Vadodara burnt under communal violence, tension gripped Ahmedabad's communally sensitive Shahpur area on Sunday evening, eve of Eid-ul-Azha.

Agitated over the search by police for a suspect involved in alleged cow slaughter in Old City area in Ahmedabad, over 200 people clashed with the police which had to resort to fire tear gas shells to disperse the rioters. More than 60 tear gas shells were fired by cops to control the rioters throwing crude bombs and pelting stones.

As per a TOI report, sources at the spot said that the rioters managed to snatch the service revolver of A G Gohil, a police sub-inspector with Navrangpura police station. Gohil was part of the police teams trying to control the rioters. Gohil and five constables were surrounded by a group of rioters. They resisted while police reinforcements rushed to the spot. In the scuffle, someone in the crowd managed to get hold of Gohil's service revolver.

According to the Shahpur police, a mob of more than 200 locals gathered near Rangila police post as well as nearby Shahpur Adda. They allegedly began pelting stones at policemen deployed at that spot at around 6 pm. Stone pelting spread to other parts of Shahpur, such as Pattharwali Masjid and Torrent Power office during late evening.

After two hours of tear gas shelling, the police brought the situation under control. The police have been massively deployed in and around the area since Saturday, ahead of Bakrid celebrations.

One policeman was severely injured in the stone pelting and police fired some rounds in the air, authorities said. City commissioner of police Shivanand Jha, local MLA Gyasuddin Shaikh and crime branch officials, including DCP Himanshu Shukla, reached the spot.

Some locals got into an argument with crime branch officials while they were searching for a suspect involved in alleged cow slaughter, Jha said, during his interaction with reporters after the situation was brought under control.

A crime branch team, led by Police Inspector BP Rozia, chased a tempo in Shahibaug area on Saturday night, after they they suspected that the vehicle had cow beef. Rozia also opened fire at the vehicle when the driver didn't stop.

After nabbing two suspects, the crime branch learnt about a third person, believed to be a resident of Shahpur.

To hunt him down, the crime branch team began a search operation in Shahpur area on Sunday evening, which angered the locals, Jha said.

"When crime branch officials were searching for the suspect near Rangila police post today (Sunday) evening, some locals got angry and started throwing stones at the police. When stone pelting intensified, we called in extra force to control the situation," Jha said.