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Journalism of Courage
You can’t fight fire with fire, Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee warned during his visit to the city on Thursday.
But his advice went unheeded as arsonists set afire five houses near Vishala Circle here around 3.30 pm even as Vajpayee was meeting delegations at Circuit House Annexe.
At 9.15 pm when the Prime Minister was addressing the media prior to his departure, a 5,000-strong mob gathered in Vejalpur area and indulged in stone-pelting. They also set off crackers, creating tension in the area.
Around 10 motorcyclists set ablaze five houses at a slum near Vishala Circle today afternoon and fled escaping arrest. Soon, the sound of an explosion threw residents of Vasna and Vejalpur into panic around 9.30 pm.
In another incident, one person was killed and eight others injured when police opened fire at a violent mob at Modasa in Sabarkantha district.
Violence erupted in Modasa after a man was stabbed allegedly by members of of the minority community. The violence soon took an ugly shape with members of the two communities throwing stones at each other.
A scooter and a tractor were also set ablaze. Police burst teargas shells but failed to disperse the crowd. They then opened fire, killing a man on the spot. Eight others were reported injured in the violence.
