JAIPUR: The situation in four police station areas of Jaipur, where curfew was imposed after violence erupted late in the night, has been brought under control, a police officer said on Saturday.
“No untoward incident has been reported from the areas where curfew was clamped on Friday night,” the officer told IANS.
Ramganj has a large Muslim population and is considered a sensitive area.
Earlier, Jaipur Police Commissioner Sanjay Agarwal said curfew was “imposed till further orders in Manak Chowk, Subhash Chowk, Galta Gate and Ramganj following the violence in which a police station was attacked and vehicles burnt”.
According to eyewitnesses, Friday’s clash erupted when a policeman tried to stop a motorcycle for routine checking in the Ramganj area and assault the Muslim couple.
Hundreds of people gathered at the police station after the incident. The police tried to pacify them but failed.
“A petty dispute between a police constable and a couple in a motorcycle late last night led to clashes between the locals and the police, following which the curfew was imposed around 1 am in Ramganj area, where the violence broke out,” Jaipur police commissioner Sanjay Agarwal said.
“It is alleged that the constable had assaulted the couple over some issue, following which a mob of locals gathered around the Ramganj police station and indulged in arson, setting ablaze five vehicles, including an ambulance and a police jeep, and damaged 21 others,” he said.
ALSO READ: Police assaults Muslim woman, triggers violence in Jaipur
It fired tear gas shells and rubber bullets to disperse the mob. As a preventive measure, the police had fired in the air to control the violent mob.
“When the situation went out of control, police opened fire on the agitators in which one person, identified as Mohammed Raees, was killed, Agarwal tod PTI.
Internet services were also suspended and schools were shut down. Security forces, including Rajasthan Armed Constabulary (RAC) and home guard jawans have been employed in the curfew-laden areas.
(With inputs from IANS/PTI)