15 injured in clash over old dispute in Jalgaon

At least 15 people, including a journalist, were injured when two rival groups clashed over an old dispute in Bhusawal tehsil of the district, police said today.
The clashing groups allegedly set a fruit shop afire near a bus stand at Varangaon town in Bhusawal last evening and also pelted some houses in the area with stones in which 15 persons, including a journalist with a local newspaper, sustained injuries, they said.
The rioters then torched a truck on the national highway passing through Varangaon and also damaged a car and motorbikes parked in a nearby private garage, they said.

The violence was apparently the fallout of a two-month-old incident when Varangaon resident Ganesh Atmaram Dhangar, an activist of a political organisation, had stopped a truck carrying animals while alleging it as illegal trafficking for slaughter, sources said.
That time, police had registered an offence against him under section 143 (unlawful assembly) of IPC. Since then Dhangar had been at large.
Last evening, while Dhangar was passing through Sidheshwarnagar in Varangaon, some unidentified persons attacked him on his head with a steel rod, injuring him seriously.

His supporters took him to a primary health centre and later indulged in clash with the rival group.

Police have started combing operation in the area to nab those involved in the violence.
The situation in Varangaon is under control, police added.
Meanwhile, markets in the area remained closed today and residents also preferred to stay indoors, sources said.
Ganesh Dhangar's mother lodged a complaint with police following which offence has been registered against unidentified persons under section 307 (attempt to murder) of the IPC, police said.