Communal tension in Agra contained

LUCKNOW: Curfew-like situation prevailed in Mantola police circle and adjoining areas as tension gripped Agra following sustained brick-batting between members of two communities on Sunday evening. State authorities, later in the evening, described the situation as completely under control.
Commissioner and deputy inspector general (DIG) Agra were supervising the damage control operation in the Taj city.
Trouble began around 3 pm when a Burqa-clad woman visited Raj Kumar Cloth House in Subhash Bazar area for some purchases. The store owner had a suspicion that she had stolen some cloth and hidden it in her veil.
The shop owner raised an alarm and fellow traders gathered at the site. Thereafter the woman was searched. There were however two contradictory versions about what happened next. The traders insist that stolen cloth was recovered from her possession and even some shoppers were eye-witness to this.
The woman on the other hand returned home and claimed that nothing was recovered from her and that she was frisked by men who even indulged in obscenity.
Following rumours, members of one community gathered near Subhash Market and confronted the traders. The situation grew tense and finally violence broke out as sustained brick-batting continued for over half an hour. Police reached the site thereafter and dispersed the mob.
An undeclared curfew like situation was created by the police to keep the members of a particular community indoors and avoid further confrontation.
"The mobs from the two community have been dispersed and additional forces have been deployed in the area as a precaution," said superintendent of police (SP) City Agra Gulab Singh.