VADODARA: Fresh violence broke out
here on Wednesday following the burning alive of a man in his car last night.
The Centre dispatched five companies of 500 paramilitary personnel to contain
the situation in the city.
Two factories were set on fire by a mob
in Sardar industrial area and incidents of stone-pelting were reported from some
parts of the city, police sources said.
The authorities withdrew
their earlier decision to relax curfew in Navapure, Wadi, Raopura, Panigate and
Karelibag, following last night’s incident in which a mob set ablaze a
car, burning alive a person in Arjuwa road.
Security in the troubled
areas has been tightened after last night’s incident. Amidst charges of
police inaction, the Centre reviewed the situation and decided to dispatch five
companies of paramilitary forces, including four of rapid action force, to
assist the Gujarat police.
A home ministry spokesman said
“Home minister Shivraj Patil has spoken to Gujarat chief minister Narendra
Modi over the telephone and asked him to make all efforts to bring the situation
in Vadodara under control.”
Meanwhile, asserting that the
situation in this violence-hit town was under control, chief minister Narendra
Modi warned that strict action would be taken against rioters. “After last
night’s violence, the situation is under control,” Mr Modi, who
toured the riot-affected areas, told reporters here.
Issuing a stern
warning to those fomenting trouble, he said, “Nobody has the right to take
the law in his own hands. I warn rioters, whatever community they belong
to...The law will do its duty. If someone thinks injustice has been done, he can
seek legal recourse.”
Union home secretary VK Duggal also
spoke to the Gujarat chief secretary and the state DGP, assuring all help in the
form of additional forces, the spokesman added. Gujarat home minister Amit Shah
visited the city this morning and reviewed the situation there.
Modi
is also expected to visit the city later in the day. Minority Commission member
Mohammed H Ansari has condemned the police firing in the city. Six persons have
been killed in violence that broke out after the demolition of a Dargah in the
city on Monday.
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