13 detained after clash during Ganesh Puja procession in Gujarat's Vadodara

A total of 13 persons have been detained in connection with a clash that erupted during a Ganesh Puja procession in the Panigate area in Gujarat's Vadodara on Monday, police said today.

The situation is peaceful now, informed police.

The police have also started investigating the matter.

"Clash erupted between two groups during a Lord Ganesh procession in Vadodara yesterday. The situation is peaceful in the Panigate area. I appeal to the public to not pay heed to rumours. Police are investigating the matter," said Chirag Kordiya, Joint Commissioner of Police, Vadodara Police.

Earlier this year, clashes broke out between two communities, in several parts of the country on the occasions of Ram Navami and Hanuman Jayanti.

Clashes broke out in Jahangir Puri in New Delhi on April 16 this year on the occasion of the Hanuman Jayanti celebration and even during Ram Navami celebrations in the states of Rajasthan, Gujarat, Jharkhand, West Bengal, and Madhya Pradesh.

Devotees were targeted with gunshots, and stones were pelted which injured the devotees in processions in several states leading to communal tension also.