A man injured when a crowd clashed with the police in the Shahpur area of old Ahmedabad on Sunday evening has died.
The police said it fired in the air and used tear gas shells to disperse the crowd of about 200, which threw stones at policeman who were conducting a search in the sensitive area. Six people were injured in the clashes, including three policemen. One person died of his injuries.
“There is no clarity yet, we are also trying to ascertain the facts. So far, we are busy in keeping the situation calm,” said Joint Commissioner of Police Manoj Agarwal.
The city’s police commissioner Shivanand Jha, area legislator Gyasuddin Shaikh and crime branch officials visited the spot last evening, and the situation is now said to be under control.
Personnel of the Rapid Action Force and State Reserve Police have been deployed in the area and the police commissioner also held meetings with local leaders for their support in ensuring there is no disturbance during Eid celebrations.
The commissioner said the clashes happened after some local people had an argument with a police team that was searching the area for a person they suspected was involved in cow slaughter, which is prohibited by law.
“When crime branch officials were searching for the suspect near the Rangila police post, some locals got angry and started throwing stones at the police. When stone pelting intensified, we called in extra forces to control the situation,” Mr. Jha said on Sunday.
