Police have arrested 38 persons and booked nearly 200 others for Saturday night’s communal clash in Nagoriwad area of Shahpur in Ahmedabad. Advertising The clash broke out during a candle light march in the memory of 40 CRPF men killed in Pulwama terror attack. “Apart from the 38 arrested, we are trying to identify and arrest another 150 to 200 people who have been booked, from our CCTV footage. However, most men are absconding at the moment, fearing arrest,” Inspector R K Amin of Shahpur police station said, adding that those arrested belong to both the communities. According to the FIR filed on Sunday, three to four men were shouting slogans in solidarity with the Pulwama attack victims around 8.15 pm on Saturday when they were attacked with stones, leading to communal clashes in the area. “We are trying to find out the culprits who attacked the sloganeering men. It could have been from a passing vehicle or a local resident. Within 15 minutes, the clashes erupted. To control the situation, we lobbed 12 teargas shells when a mob set a CNG car parked outside Ahmadi Masjid on fire. While no civilian was injured, two constables sustained minor injuries,” Amin said. Accused have been booked under IPC sections such as 333 (to voluntarily cause grievous hurt to public servant), 435 (mischief by fire or explosive substance with intent to cause damage to amount of one hundred), 143 (unlawful assembly), 147 (rioting) and 152 (assaulting or obstructing public servant when suppressing riot). Meanwhile, an intensive foot patrolling and search operation were carried out by the police. The Nagoriwad area is termed as a “sensitive area” by the police, and witnesses frequent clashes. Meanwhile, a Muslim resident, who refused to be named, alleged, “A Hindu wedding ceremony was going on right beside the masjid and opposite the police chowki. They switched off their lights suddenly around 8.30 pm when all our men were at the masjid offering namaz, and people started pelting stones at the mosque. A Muslim wedding ceremony was also going on in the locality and the groom’s car was set on fire.” Advertising A Hindu resident alleged, “They (Muslims) attacked us first when we were offering prayers to our martyrs, only then we retaliated to save ourselves.”

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