Dhule riots: Retired judge to carry out parallel probe

Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan, on Tuesday, ordered a semi-judicial probe into the January 6, Dhule's communal conflagration that left six people dead and dozens injured.

The chief minister visited the riot spots and also visited families of the riot hit victims; the judicial probe comes in the wake of the magisterial enquiry set-up earlier after curfew was clamped on the power-loom town, 350 kms north of Mumbai.

Talking to people of Dhule, the chief minister said that the judicial probe would be conducted by a retired judge; it will look into the causes that led to the communal flare-up and suggest preventive measures that can be taken in future to avoid such untoward incidents.

The state government also announced Rs 5 lakh for families of deceased and Rs 3 lakh for those who were maimed and compensation for those who sustained damages to properties in the free-for-all that had ensued after a minor argument broke into an internecine clash between two groups.

Maharashtra Home Minister R R Patil giving details of the riots informed the media that rioters hurled firebombs at houses.