15 women injured in lathicharge,

Official sources said about 500 women gheraoed the police station accusing the police and the district administration of being biased and picking up people of one community only in connection with clashes last week during the Durga puja festival.

Claiming that the five youths taken into custody were innocent, the women alleged that they were being tortured during interrogation.

As the situation became uncontrollable, the police lathicharged in which 15 demonstrators sustained minor injuries, the sources said.

Yesterday also around 500 women of the I G Road area here had staged a peaceful dharna before the police station.

Though no fresh incident of violence was reported since Saturday, tension prevailed in the town because markets operated by people of a community remained closed affecting shopping for Laxmi Puja today, they said.

Besides, boats used to transport food, vegetables, and people from south bank of the Brahmaputra were not allowed to land here by a group leading to shortage of essential items and stranding passengers here, the sources said.

Meanwhile, the army continued to flag march here round the clock with paramilitary forces, Rapid Action Force (RAF) and police intensifying their vigil even as night curfew from 5 pm to 5 am continued.

Curfew was imposed on Thursday at 9:00 pm following a clash when a group of people were returning after immersing the idol of Goddess Durga in the Brahmaputra.

Curfew was also imposed earlier on Wednesday for 12 hours following clashes after stabbing of a Durga Puja pandal decorator in IG Road area on Tuesday.