Udgir under curfew after communal violence; 57 held

A curfew has been imposed in Udgir town in Latur district after communal violence broke out in the town after rumors of a green flag being hoisted on the historical Udgir Fort.

A curfew has been imposed in Udgir town in Latur district after communal violence broke out in the town after rumors of a green flag being hoisted on the historical Udgir Fort. Udgir is located 540 km east of Mumbai and borders both Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka.

Trouble started Friday after there were rumours that a green flag was hoisted on top of the shrine of Udgir Baba inside the fort,said the police.Some people wanted to hold a protest march on Saturday. On being stopped by the police,they indulged in stone pelting with members of two communities taking on each other, said Latur Superintendent of Police Prakash Gaikar.He,however,said the police were still investigating whether the green flag was indeed hoisted inside the fort or not. The mob of protesters was detained at Shivaji Chowk by the police.

We asked them to hand over their memorandum to us at Shivaji Chowk,but they did not listen and indulged in stone pelting. They also burnt a few vehicles and destroyed handcarts, Gaikar added.

After properties belonging to members of the minority community were targeted,a fight ensued between the two sides,said the police.

The police were forced to use teargas to disburse people from both sides. We have so far arrested 57 people from both the communities for rioting, Gaikar said. The police have imposed a curfew in Udgir till Monday morning.

We will decide on lifting the curfew after evaluating the ground situation, Gaikar said. Maharashtra has witnessed a spate of riots in the last few months the deadliest being in Dhule in January where six people lost their lives. In December 2012,three people were killed in Raver in Jalgaon district after violence broke out between the two communities.

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Udgir under curfew after communal violence; 57 held

A curfew has been imposed in Udgir town in Latur district after communal violence broke out in the town after rumors of a green flag being hoisted on the historical Udgir Fort.

A curfew has been imposed in Udgir town in Latur district after communal violence broke out in the town after rumors of a green flag being hoisted on the historical Udgir Fort.