An indefinite curfew was today clamped in some parts of the walled city here following communal clashes over alleged desecration of a religious place.
At least five persons were injured in incidents of stabbing and stone-pelting involving members of two communities, police said.Curfew was imposed in Madannapet and Saidabad in Old City and will continue till further orders, Andhra Pradesh Director General of Police V Dinesh Reddy said.
Tension erupted in the morning following reports of alleged desecration of a religious place in Kurmaguda, wherein
some devotees complained that they found “meat” and green-coloured water near a place of worship.
Enraged members of the community took out rallies that culminated in stone-pelting. As the news spread, members
of other community too assembled in large numbers and also indulged into heavy brickbatting against each other and at houses in Kurmaguda besides the communally sensitive areas of Madannapet and Saidabad, thus prompting police to cane charge and burst of teargas shells to disperse marauding mobs.
“There are no deaths,” Reddy, who visited the trouble-hit areas along with Hyderabad Police Commissioner A K Khan and other senior police officers, said and appealed to people to maintain communal harmony and not to fall prey to rumours.
Reddy said a massive drive was underway to arrest those responsible for the incident, adding, “We are picking up
offenders and the situation is now peaceful and public are requested to pass on information on communal offenders who are holed up in these areas.”Meanwhile, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy also reviewed the situation in Madannapet and Saidabad areas accompanied by Reddy, Commissioner of Police A K Khan,district collector N Gulzar and other senior officials and directed them to closely monitor the situation. (More) PTI
