Curfew relaxed in riot-hit old Hyderabad

Hyderabad, April 11 (IANS) The situation remained peaceful in the riot-hit areas of old city of Hyderabad Wednesday as police relaxed curfew for the first time in four days.

No untoward incident was reported during the curfew relaxation for four hours in Madannapet and Saeedabad police station limits.

After remaining indoors for three days, people came out to buy essential commodities as police and paramilitary forces kept a strict vigil.

Meanwhile, police Wednesday arrested four more accused in connection with the violent incidents that took place Sunday. Seven people were arrested Tuesday.

The communally sensitive Madannapet was rocked by communal clashes Sunday after a place of worship was desecrated. Over a dozen people were injured in the violence spread to Saeedabad and surrounding areas forcing police to impose indefinite curfew.

Meanwhile, desecration of yet another place of worship took place. Unidentified people threw carcass of a dead dog in a place of worship in Bahadurpura. Five such incidents have been reported since the violence Sunday.

After three days of undeclared curfew in other parts of the old city, the usual hustle bustle resumed in the markets around the historic Charminar here.

Shops in Laad Bazar, Patther Gatti, Patel Market, Madina and other commercial centres in the old city re-opened while buses of the state-owned road transport corporation also returned on the roads.