Boy injured in communal clash in MP

Two groups came face to face this morning, pelted stones at each other and set nearly a dozen shops and houses on fire, forcing police to fire tear gas shells and cane rioters to bring the situation under control, said Rajgarh's Superintendent of Police (SP) Ruchivardhan Mishra.

A boy was injured in the police firing following which he was rushed to Bhopal for treatment, he said.

According to Mishra, the provocation was an old dispute over a piece of graveyard land situated close to an Idgah, which triggered the clash on the sidelines of Eid-ul-Zuha festival.

As both groups started pelting stones at each other nearby market got closed. When the tension escalated police intervened and brought the situation under control, the SP said adding section 144 of CrPc has been imposed in the town and additional force was also deployed to prevent any untoward incident.

Madhya Pradesh Congress unit President Kantilal Bhuria and Congress MLA Arif Aqeel have condemned the violence.