Clashes in AP killed 3

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/3_killed_in_communal_clashes_in_AP/articleshow/3581909.cms3 killed in communal clashes in Andhra Pradesh10 Oct 2008, 2212 hrs IST,TNN BHAINSA (ANDHRA PRADESH): Three people were killed and six seriously injured in rioting and clashes between two communities in Bhainsa in Adilabad district on Friday afternoon. The district police said the situation was tense but under control. Additional forces have been rushed and prohibitory orders clamped on the town. Clashes were also reported from Nirmal town in the district and police have imposed prohibitory orders there as well as a precautionary measure. According to police, the clashes occurred when a Durga Puja procession was passing by devotees offering Friday prayers at a mosque. "The Durga Devi shobha yatra (procession) reached Masjid Panjeshah in central market around 1.00pm when devotees objected to the Durga processionists playing songs when their prayers were under way. This led to stone-pelting by both the groups and grew into rioting, stabbing and burning of shops and vehicles," one official said. Police rushed to the spot and tried to cool tempers and get the groups to talk to each other but their efforts went in vain. The clashes did not stop even after police resorted to a lathicharge. Finally, they fired 35 rounds of ammunition in the air. In all, about 40 shops and 12 vehicles were torched by the rival mobs. The dead were identified as Afsar Ahmed, 24, Abdul Kayyum, 22 and Bhutan, said to be a Marathi immigrant."All three died because of stabbing," Adilabad collector Ahmed Nadim told TOI. Adilabad Congress MP A Indrasena Reddy too told TOI that he had seen the bodies and found only stab wounds and no bullet injuries. Abdul Majid, who sustained a serious bullet injury in the firing, was shifted to Nizamabad first and then to Hyderabad. He is in a critical condition. Peace committees belonging to the two communities have been set up to initiate a dialogue, the collector added. Referring to Nirmal, Nadim said a few people had gathered there but were quickly dispersed and ban orders clamped. Adilabad SP Anil Kumar told TOI that the situation was tense but under control and that Section 144 had been imposed on the town to ensure normalcy. Observers said there was a major bungling by the district administration in allowing the Hindu procession to cross a mosque on a Friday afternoon. Not only that, the Durga puja procession, which comprised about 500 people, was accompanied by only one circle inspector, one sub-inspector and four constables. "In a town which has had communal clashes in the past, such inadequate measures are shocking," said one senior official.