Five injured in Shia-Sunni clash
By IANSWednesday, March 11, 2009
LUCKNOW - Five people were injured when members of the Sunni community clashed with the police after being banned from taking out a religious procession here Tuesday, the authorities said.
‘There was a pitched battle when we tried to stop their Julus-e-Mohammadi procession’ on the Shahmina road, Deputy Inspector General of police N.K. Srivastava told IANS.
‘We resorted to force when people started throwing stones at the police and damaging public vehicles,’ he said.
The police used tear gas and batons to disperse hundreds trying to take out the procession, he said.
While the police claimed that only five people were injured, some reports put the figure at 15.
According to officials, the Julus-e-Mohammadi procession of Sunnis was banned in the mid-1980s in the state following violence between Shias and Sunnis.
