A clash broke out between two communities during a wedding in the early hours of Sunday at Podanur near here.

According to the police sources, during the wedding ceremony, four youth had entered the marriage hall in the late hours of Saturday.

Finding their activities to be suspicious, the guests questioned them and found that they were trying to steal from the hall. They beat up the four youth and chased them out of the hall.

However, they returned in the early hours of Sunday with around 100 members from their community and stoned the marriage procession, in which four members, including the bridegroom’s father Palanisamy, were injured. They were admitted to the Coimbatore Medical College Hospital for treatment.

Based on a complaint from Senthil Kumar, 29, a friend of the bridegroom, the police have registered cases against 18 members of the group.

A total of 13 persons, including Sheik Mohammed, 24, of Vincent Road, have been arrested and remanded in custody. A search is on for five others.

Meanwhile, around 250 members of the minority community staged a protest at Karumukadai later in the day protesting against the arrest of members of their community. They alleged that the police had behaved in a “high handed” manner. Senior police officials held talks with them and they dispersed.