Violence during BJP candidate's victory rally in Gujarat

Junagadh (Gujarat), May 22 (IANS) A Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate's rally to celebrate victory in the Lok Sabha elections turned violent as members of two communities clashed in this Gujarat city and threw stones at vehicles, police said.

The rally in Junagadh, about 250 km from Ahmedabad, was in support of Dinu Solanki, who has won from the Junagadh constituency. Protesters were reportedly supporters of Congress candidate Jashu Barad, police said.

'At least three vehicles have been set on fire and several damaged in stone-pelting when members of two communities clashed over the issue of the rally passing through a locality that is a Congress stronghold,' a police official said.

An unspecified number of people suffered minor injuries as police were trying to control a mob of more than 500 people throwing stones at passing vehicles and setting some of them on fire.

No arrests were made so far and the matter was being investigated, the official said.