Violence in Varanasi, vehicles set ablaze

Violence erupted here today, with mobs indulging in stone-pelting on police and setting ablaze a police picket and number of vehicles.

The violence broke out during a march by seers and some other locals, when some people in the crowd resorted to stone-pelting, police sources said.

The mob also indulged in arson, setting afire a police picket, a police jeep, a motorbike and some shops in Godowlia area under Dashashwamedh police station here, they said.

Thousands of people, including seers and locals, were taking out the protest march from Townhall to Dashashwamed Ghat against the incident of lathicharge on them during their dharna staged between September 21 and 23 for preventing them from immersing Ganesha idols in Ganga.

The dharna was called off after police used force on them in the midnight.

Varanasi is the Lok Sabha constituency of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.