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Curfew continues in Varanasi

Indefinite curfew continues in several localities of Varanasi following Tuesday's violence in which a youth was killed.

District Magistrate Alok Kumar said Wednesday that no untoward incident had been reported from the affected areas after Tuesday night.

''The police are keeping a close vigil on the situation. A few arrests have been made as precaution,'' he said.

Curfew was clamped in several localities under Dashashwamedh, Bhelupura, Chowk, Luxa and Chetganj police circles last night after the death of a youth, Vinod Jain, which sparked tension in the city. He had sustained stab injuries in Madanpura area and died in the Shiv Prasad Gupt hospital.

The magistrate said all educational institutions in the city had been closed. Also, the he UP Education Board Examinations in the centres affected had been postponed.

Curfew covers some of the main markets of the city, including Godaulia and Chowk. Shops were closed even in the areas where there was no curfew.

This is the first curfew in Varanasi in seven years.

The civil administration claimed that the violence was not communal in nature.

Tension had been brewing in the city for the past few days. In Adampura, an altercation had taken place between members of two communities on April 16 during the Tazia procession. The next day there were incidents of bomb explosion and fighting between them in three localities, and some 25 people were arrested.

The district administration, meanwhile, has ordered a magisterial inquiry into the incident.

UNI

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