Curfew imposed in Dhubri town, police fire in air, 6 injured

Curfew was today imposed in Dhubri town of Assam after six persons were injured in two rounds of clashes between police and protesters today, official sources said.

Durga Puja celebrations in Dhubri town were marred when police fired in air--for the second time in the day--to disperse people who gathered at a pandal violating the curfew.

The curfew was imposed in the evening after protesters representing Durga Puja committees and police clashed following the stabbing of a Durga Puja pandal decorator by unidentified persons late last night in the town's IG Road area, the sources said.

The curfew, clamped from 5pm, would be in force till 5 am tomorrow.

Officials said the police action came at Balu Char area at around 7pm when a police patrol team noticed a large number of people gathered at the puja mandap.

Police fired around eight rounds in the air to disperse the crowd. During the commotion that followed, two persons sustained minor injuries.

Earlier in the afternoon, police fired in the air and use tear gas to disperse protesters who were not allowing the Durga idol from the Police Reserve mandap to be immersed at Harisabha locality.

Kamal Ghosh, the decorator, was seriously injured after being stabbed at the Ghoshpara puja mandap last night. He was admitted to a local hospital and then referred to the Guwahati Medical College this morning.

This morning the coordination committee of all Durga Puja mandaps in Dhubri town organised a meeting to protest the incident and asked senior officials to meet them at the protest site.