Rajasthan: Curfew relaxed for three hours in communal violence-hit Banswara

Jaipur: The district administration on Monday relaxed the curfew for three hours in Rajasthan’s Banswara town where communal tension flared four days ago. It is the first time that the administration has lifted the curfew since it was clamped on Friday.

People have been allowed to buy groceries and other necessary items from the market from noon to 3 pm. Heavy police force was deployed to keep a vigil on the law and order situation when people ventured out of their homes.

Curfew was affecting normal life, but the district administration didn’t give any relaxation due to sporadic incidents of arson reported on Sunday.

“We have decided to relax the curfew for three hours on Monday so that people could buy groceries. Any incident of violence during the relaxation period will be dealt with strictly,” said a senior district administration officer.

The administration had on Sunday managed to get PTET conducted at 19 examination centres in the town without any incident.

As people weren’t allowed to venture out of their homes, they were unable to arrange for food and other necessary items. The entire town was cordoned off with a ban on the entry of vehicles from other nearby towns and villages.

A total of 67 people have been arrested in connection with rioting and violence since Friday.

The tension spread in Banswara following a dispute over a religious place in the town four days ago. In the next three hours, people indulged in arson, torched vehicles and fired guns. People even put fire to PLG cylinders, causing explosions. The district administration and police reacted too late to contain the tension which spread throughout the town from Khantwara area.

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