Rajkot: Rumours spark violence in red zone

RAJKOT: The city police had a nightmarish time after large number of people from Covid-19 hotspot Jangleshwar broke the barricades and tin walls after Saturday midnight and resorted to violence after rumours spread that the area would remain a containment zone for a longer period.
The mob started pelting stones at the cops and vandalized police and private vehicles.Two policemen were also injured in the incident. Police lobbed three tear gas shells to disperse the mob.
On Sunday, police arrested 68 people for the violence.
Jangleshwar has been declared a red zone as it accounts for the maximum number of Covid-19 positive cases reported in the city. The entire area has been cluster quarantined and the entry and exit has been strictly limited.
Rumour spread like wildfire that relaxations will be lifted from all areas except Jangleshwar. According to the police, the rumour triggering widespread protests among the residents who went on a rampage, breaking the tin walls with which the police had barricaded the area.
When the officials of parole furlough squad and Bhaktinagar police station, who were patrolling the area, rushed to the spot, the miscreants pelted them with stones.
“Two cops, one of them identified as Mohammed Azhruddin Bukhari, a constable with parole furlough squad, were injured in the stone pelting. The mob also smashed the wind screens of three police vehicles. We had to lob three tear gas shells and resort to caning to disperse the agitating residents,” said V K Gadhvi, inspector with Bhaktinagar police station.
Police booked as many as 74 persons for the crime, of which 68 were arrested. Those who were arrested for allegedly leading the mob were identified as Maqsood Chavda, Ahmed Nai, Yunus Khanpara and Habibbapu Saiyed.
All have been booked under IPC section 120B (criminal conspiracy), rioting and damaging government property