Nandurbar: Clashes erupt after man set alight in a fight dies

A mob subsequently assaulted Marathe, who was then arrested by the local police. “Marathe had been booked for the assault right after the incident. He was also injured, but has been discharged by the hospital. He will be now booked for murder,” said officials at the Nandurbar police station.

Pinjari was shifted to various hospitals and subsequently breathed his last Saturday morning. The news of his death created tension in the city and members of the Muslim community decided to close down their establishments in protest. “Because of the tension, the local police had also advised people to lay low and keep establishments closed. However, a section of the market decided to keep the market open.

This led to tension and subsequently violence broke out,” said a local resident, Rais Sayyed. Stones were subsequently pelted from both the sides in areas such as Balajiwada. Police had to fire tear gas to disperse the mob. Close to two dozen locals have been kept under preventive detention, even as curfew was imposed in parts of the city. The tribal-dominated Nandurbar district is considered a vulnerable area.

Last year, two incidents of communal violence had broken out in the city. In 2011 too, one person was killed in similar clashes in Nandurbar .