BOMBAY (PTI): The situation in Indias Maharashtra state worsened Dec.9 with the death toll rising to a staggering 150 including 100in Bombay alone even as police mounted extra vigil in view of a countrywide strike called by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and supported by the Shiv Sena a militant Hindu Organization.
Sporadic incidents of arson were reported from several parts of the state and pitched battles were on the sensitive areas of Dharavi Deonar and Saki Naka in the Metropolis where at least 20 people were killed late Tuesday night.
Police opened fire to quell looting mobs Tuesday night in. curfew-bound Dharavi-Asia’s biggest slum and several other colonies. Army columns were deployed in some of these trouble-tom localities to assist the civil administration in restoring law and order.
Women and children from Dharavi were escorted by state reserve police personnel to take shelter Tuesday night at Sion station in view of large-scale violence there. Uneasy calm prevailed in the curfew-bound Bhendi Bazar area of South Bombay where violence first erupted on Monday.
Meanwhile the strike sponsored by the BJP had its impact on the suburban services of the central railway. Shiv Sena and BJP volunteers stopped trains at Kalyan Mulund Vile Parle and Vikhroli railway stations affecting the movement of trains. Services were subsequently suspended between Kurla and Victoria Terminus damage to relay equipment was also reported
Article extracted from this publication >> December 18, 1992
