Ahmedabad: Two persons were killed and 10 others wounded in a sectarian clash on March 25 in the Patan district of Gujarat where assembly elections are due this year.
Around 50 houses were ransacked and set ablaze along with many vehicles in the western Indian state.
One of the victims died in police firing.
Patan Superintendent of Police Ashwin Chauhan said a minor altercation between two students over some dispute while going for the high school examinations in Vadavali village turned into a major clash involving residents of three villages.
Mobs first ransacked and then torched around 50 houses. More than two dozen vehicles parked in front of the houses were also burnt down.
Police from Patan and Mehsana rushed to the spot but with the situation threatening to spiral out of control, in-charge Director General of Police P.P. Pandey dispatched Inspector General of Police, Gandhinagar to the riot-torn village to oversee matters. It also took more than 10 fire engines from Mehsana, Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar to douse the fire in the houses and vehicles set ablaze, twocircles.net reported.
Police carried out a baton-charge and used teargas shells to disperse the mob but the violence continued, forcing them to open fire in which one youth was killed. At least 10 people sustained injuries in stone throwing between the two groups.
Gujarat is scheduled to elect its fourteenth legislative assembly of 182 members in November-December.