Cops rush yatra through the route

Heavy security, strict self-imposed 8216;janta curfew8217;, restraint by Muslims, and absence of provocative slogan-shouting by devotees who were made to rush through sensitive areas by police ensured the 125th rath yatra ended peacefully.

There were a few tense moments in Dariapur when processionists began shouting provocative slogans but police defused the tension.

In a city still recovering from post-Godhra violence, the rath yatra was taken out under heavy security, and policemen kept urging participants to move on and akhadas to cut short their displays 8212; especially in sensitive areas such as Dariapur and Shahpur.

Mounted police, bomb disposal squads, sniffer dogs, 80 companies of state and Central Reserve Police Force, BSF and RAF jawans and around 5,000 policemen secured the route.