Tension escalated at Kosadi in Surat after Jaswant Darbar, an activist of Gau Rakshak Samiti, the cow protection unit of VHP, was killed by a group of Muslims.

Darbar was killed when he had gone along with a team on Tuesday to examine a suspected slaughter house. The team was attacked by 500 people and Darbar was killed on the spot.

As news of the killing spread among the Hindus in Kosamba and adjoining villages, they attacked 30 shops of the rival group.

This resulted in Muslims and Hindus pelting stones at each other. The police rushed to the villages to disperse the mob.

However, tension did not abate on Wednesday as Hindus enforced a bundh in  several villages. In Kamrej, four persons were attacked with iron rods and lathis. A taxi driver and a bus driver were attacked and nine trucks and 12 bikes damaged.

Surat DSP Brajeshkumar Singh claimed that things were under control and that additional police forces have been deployed to keep the warring groups at bay.