By Pervez Bari, TwoCircles.net,

Bhopal: Indore, the financial capital of Madhya Pradesh, continued to burn on Friday after Bharatiya Janata Party, (BJP), and its ally Vishwa Hindu Parishad, (VHP), sponsored "Bharat Bandh" (All India Shutdown) and supported by Bajrang Dal turned violent leading to deaths of five persons on Thursday.

Fresh communal violence erupted in Indore today leading to imposition of curfew in entire city, a day after four persons were killed in clashes during shutdown against revocation of land to Amarnath shrine board. Indore district administration had yesterday imposed curfew in the four police station areas of the city.

Communal violence also re-occurred in nearby temple town of Ujjain when both Hindus and Muslims indulged in brickbating in the afternoon.

According to Indore Inspector General Anil Kumar said over 100 people have been arrested as police launched search operations in sensitive areas. As many as 125 people have been taken into custody since Thursday’s violence and more police forces have been deployed to take control of the situation, he said on phone.

While District Magistrate Rakesh Choudhry described the situation as “tense but under control”. The decision to relax the curfew would only be taken after taking stock of the situation in the morning, he said.

One jeweller Hiralal had immolated himself in Satna, another town in the state, on Thursday when the VHP activists beat him up mercilessly when he refused to down shutters. The jeweller sustained 90 per cent burns and succumbed later in hospital while undergoing treatment.

The jeweller's family refused to take over the body after post mortem on Friday when the district administration wanted to hand over it for last rites. The trader's family also refused to accept compensation amount and demanded that immediate action should be taken against the miscreants who were responsible for his death.

Meanwhile, it may be mentioned here that strike supporters had shut down transport and businesses in several Indian states, as protesters blocked roads, smashed vehicles and stopped trains. Though government offices and banks functioned as usual, educational institutions were closed.

The call for the shutdown was given in protest of Jammu and Kashmir government's decision to cancel the allotment of forest land to the Amarnath shrine board. They were protesting against the government of Indian Kashmir for reversing a decision to transfer forest land to a shrine trust in the Muslim-majority part of the state.

The government was forced to back down after Muslim protesters shut down Kashmir last week over the transfer of land, a move that has angered thousands of Hindus in India.

On Friday fresh incidents of violence occurred in various areas - Jinsi, Juna Risala, Champa Bagh, Bombay Bazar and Hathipala where rioters clashed with the police and the Rapid Action Force personnel by pelting stones on them.

An enraged mob pelted stones at a police team in curfew-bound Khajrana area of the city in the morning when the body of one of the deceased in yesterday's violence was taken for last rites at Khijrabad area, police said.

Police fired in the air and lobbed tear gas shells in the troubled area to bring the situation under control, police said adding some persons suffered injuries.

District administration had yesterday imposed curfew in the four police station areas of the city -- Khajrana, Pandrinath, Malharganj and Chhatripura area which continued for the second day today.

Today, violence flared up in other areas, after which the administration decided to extend curfew in the entire Indore city.

The collector and the SP on Thursday confirmed the four deaths but refused to disclose the identities of the deceased, saying it would increase tension. They said two of the deceased died of bullet injuries while two others were killed by miscreants.

Jabalpur, Jhabua, Dhar, Dewas, Hoshangabad, Satna and several other towns also witnessed vandalism on Thursday.

Meanwhile, on Thursday the situation was also tense in old Bhopal where stone pelting and arson took place as pro and anti-bandh supporters clashed, police said. About half-a-dozen vehicles were also set on fire by the activists near Bhopal Talkies in the walled city. There was also violence near old Bhopal's bus stand area and adjacent localities when BJP, VHP and Shiv Sena activists forced the shopkeepers to down their shutters. They beat up some shopkeepers and a few passersby and torched a few vehicles.

Angry over the forced closure, some people threw stones at them from the rooftops of their houses, triggering minor communal clashes. Clashes between people belonging to two communities also occurred in other parts of Old Bhopal including Shahjahanbad, Budhwara, Itwara and Karond.

Meanwhile, Madhya Pradesh Congress Committee president Suresh Pachauri and Congress Campaign Committee member Ajay Singh have termed the violence, which erupted during the Bharat Bandh in the BJP-ruled state and continues, as state-sponsored.

The Congress and the Left parties said the violence was a well-planned BJP conspiracy to whip up communal passions ahead of the assembly elections and sought dismissal of the Shivraj Singh Chouhan Government.

“The Shivraj government has completely surrendered before the saffron terrorists. There is enough proof of the BJP’s involvement in today’s violence and therefore, the Governor should recommend President’s Rule in Madhya Pradesh,” said Leader of the Opposition Ms Jamuna Devi. (pervezbari@eth.net)