Express News Service By

MANDYA: Thirteen people were injured, and more than 20 houses and eight autorickshaws damaged in a communal clash on Saturday at Belluru village in Nagamangala taluk.

Two communities had a minor clash six months ago in the village. On Saturday, two youths Nagaraj and Ravi were riding a bike when an auto, driven by a member of another community, collided with the bike.

The youths and the auto driver started to fight, and members from both their communities joined them.

Police said Nazim, Khalim, Muzahid Pasha and Sikhandar attacked Srinivas and Kitti with knives. Even though leaders from both the communities tried for a patch-up, the youths apparently did not listen to them.

Later, more than 200 youths from one community armed with deadly weapons entered a colony and attacked the people there. They broke windows and damaged eight autorickshaws and three bikes. They even threatened women and children in the colony who were celebrating Ugadi.

Thirteen people including Srinivas, Nagamma, Thimmamma, Krishnamurthy, Chikkahudasaiah, Nagaraju, Rohit, Ramesh, Savitramma, and Vinay were injured during the clashes. They were admitted to the Belluru Government Hospital and Adhichunchanagiri Hospital in Nagamangala.

Deputy Commissioner M N Ajay Nagabhushan, Superintendent of Police Bhushan Gulabrao Borase, Assistant Commissioner H L Nagaraju, DySP Savitha Hugar, tahsildhar M Shivalingamurthy and others visited Bellur on Saturday night. MLA Chaluvarayaswamy also visited the village and requested the people to live in peace and harmony.

Meanwhile, Belluru police have detained Imthiyaz Pasha, Irfan Pasha, Yasin Begh, Isran Pasha, Zameer Pasha, Syed Khalim and Mohammad Arif. The police are hunting for the other miscreants.