Communal clashes flare up in Old City

HYDERABAD: Bringing back memories of the violence that broke out on the occasion of Hanuman Jayanthi two years ago, clashes broke out on Sunday between people belonging to two communities, forcing police to clamp indefinite curfew in two police station limits of the Old City. The clash occurred after a place of worship was found desecrated in the sensitive Madannapet locality Sunday morning.A couple of vehicles were set on fire, business establishments were attacked and nearly half-a-dozen people were injured when the two groups pelted stones on each other.Police imposed curfew in the Madannapet and Saidabad police stations limits even as tension escalated in other parts of the city. With lack of additional forces, police found it difficult to bring the situation under control and the people belonging to the two communities even fought pitched battles at some places.The clashes erupted when some miscreants allegedly threw pieces of burnt meat and coloured water on the walls of a place of worship at Kurmaguda in Madannapet.Locals soon gathered and demonstrated demanding action against the culprits. According to eye-witnesses, more than 500 people had gathered and they pressed a sniffer dog into service to track down the culprits. As soon as the group reached Madannapet main road, the agitated people started pelting stones on the passing buses and attacked business establishments of the other community on the stretch of road from Madannapet to the Malakpet Assistant Commissioner of Police office at Saidabad.Soon the other community responded, leading to full scale violence. A couple of vehicles were set on fire at Kurmaguda and Saidabad areas. Police lobbed tear gas shells and caned the warring people to bring the situation under control.As clashes spread to other localities, additional forces were rushed in and police erected barbed wire fences at lanes and by-lanes to prevent people from venturing out.