Tension prevailed in Uttarakhand's Pauri district after a clash which took place between two groups, leading to the arrest of five persons.
According to Pauri SP Ajay Joshi, trouble arose when a man named Prajapati was taking his tractor somewhere past midnight yesterday when it hit a house located on a turning and one of its walls collapsed.
The enraged owner of the house belonging to another community came out and beat up Prajapati with the help of his friends and neighbours, he said.
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Prajapati then lodged a named FIR against three persons after the incident and a police report against six others following which police arrested three persons last night.
However, he returned to the police station this morning and demanded arrest of four more persons claiming that he could now recognise them, the SP said.
Subsequently, two more persons were arrested. However, Prajapati's supporters began creating a ruckus at the police station insisting on the arrest of the two remaining persons in connection with the incident, he added.
Later, about 200-250 of his supporters arrived at the market place and began forcing shop owners to down their shutters, police said. They also began turning upside down the carts of vegetable and fruit vendors.
"Police rushed to the spot and the crowd was dispersed by a show of lathis in which some people got minor injuries," the SP said, adding, there is peace in the town and the situation is fully under control.
Meanwhile, terming the incident as unfortunate, Chief Minister Harish Rawat said he has taken serious note of the incident and is monitoring the situation by keeping in constant touch with officials in Kotdwar.
He said communal amity is a tradition in Uttarakhand and it would not be allowed to be disrupted at any cost.
