NEW DELHI - Groups of Hindus and Muslims clashed after India’s victory over Pakistan in the cricket Twenty20 World Championships leaving 23 injured in India’s northern Jammu and Kashmir state, officials and news reports said Tuesday.
Quoting police sources, the PTI news agency reported that 23 men were injured in the clash in Rajouri town which borders Pakistan, shortly after India’s win on Monday night, forcing authorities to impose prohibitory orders in the area.
Police said the trouble began after some Muslims hurled stones at Hindus bursting crackers at a main intersection in the town.
Some youth who were dancing to celebrate the victory, were injured, provoking other members of the group to charge back and attack, resulting in clashes which spread to three areas in the town, police said.
The report said that 23 people were injured, among them four police.
However, police maintained that only seven people were injured.
‘According to our information, only seven people were injured in the clash. The others received superficial and minor injuries in the stone-pelting,’ senior police officer TR Katoch said.
He added that paramilitary forces and police were patrolling sensitive areas in view of the tension prevailing in Rajouri.
Another clash between the two communities was reported from a village in the north-eastern state of Assam.
The PTI reported that the police had to fire in the air to disperse the crowd and the situation was brought under control as the crowds dispersed.
Millions of cricket-crazy Indians had erupted with joy on Monday night as India recorded the nail-biting win over traditional rivals Pakistan in Johannesburg, the country’s first major cricket triumph since the 1983 World Cup.
Cricket has scores of die-hard fans in India and Pakistan which were formed after the partition of the subcontinent at the end of British rule in 1947.
While Pakistan opted to be an Islamic republic, Hindu-dominated India chose a secular constitution. Passions reach a fever-pitch in both the South Asian countries whenever their teams face each other on the cricket field.