Curfew was clamped in the entire Khargone city of Madhya Pradesh and 77 people were arrested after stones hurled at a Ram Navami procession triggered arson, officials said on Monday.
Khargone's Superintendent of Police Siddharth Choudhary received bullet injury in the violence and besides him, at least 24 people, including six policemen, were also injured, they said.
Police had to fire tear gas shells to control the situation after the stone-pelting took place at Ram Navami procession on Sunday.
Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan termed the incident as unfortunate and said the damages caused to public and private properties will be recovered from rioters.
The rioters have been identified and will not be spared. Strict action will be taken against them. There is no place for rioters in Madhya Pradesh, he said.Â
"We have passed the Damage to Public and Private Property Recovery Act. We are constituting a claim tribunal under the Act and after assessing the loss, its recovery will also be done from rioters, Chouhan said in a statement.
A similar stone-pelting incident was also reported during a Ram Navami procession in Sendhwa town of Barwani district where a police station in-charge and five others were injured. The situation was later brought under control, according to officials.
In Khargone, curfew was clamped in the entire city on Sunday evening following the incident, as per an order issued by the office of Khargone Collector Anugrah P.
When the Ram Navami procession started from the Talab Chowk area near the district headquarters, stones were pelted at the gathering, prompting the police to fire tear gas shells to control the situation.Â
