6 injured in stone-pelting during procession in Kurnool

Amaravati: The situation in Andhra Pradesh’s Kurnool town was peaceful Sunday after last night’s stone pelting between two groups during Hanuman Jayanti procession.

At least six persons were injured in the stone pelting. Police said the situation was totally peaceful.

The clash broke out in the Holagunda area of the town when two groups pelted stones on each other.

Trouble began when a procession was passing in front of a mosque in the evening. As it was ‘iftar’ and ‘namaz’ time in the mosque, worshippers raised an objection to loud music being played during the procession.

An argument between the two sides broke out. Both the groups started raising slogans, triggering a tense situation. Kurnool Superintendent of Police Sudheer Kumar Reddy said police intervened to defuse the situation and ensured that the procession moved ahead of the mosque.

However, after moving some distance, the organizers of the procession increased the sound of DJ which led to stone pelting.

Police took 20 persons into custody based on the video footage of the incident. The SP said they have deployed additional force in the area as a precautionary measure.