Independence Day in Petlad — 40 km from Anand where CM Narendra Modi unfurled the Tricolour — was marked by a clash, forcing police to open fire and impose curfew. A day after, curfew has been lifted and 18 people arrested but the police say the situation is yet to return to normal.
Police said an argument over parking of autorickshaws near NK High School escalated into a fight. The incident took on communal overtones as the drivers belonged to different communities. The violence soon spread to residential areas. Waheeduddin Sheikh, a hawker, was hit by a bullet and is undergoing treatment.
SP B.S. Jebaliya said force is still stationed in the town which had become communally sensitive post-Godhra.