Police personnel keep vigil following the clash last night at Gayatri Nagar in Bhiwandi. Pics/Sameer Markande

A riot broke out between two groups at Gayatri Nagar in Bhiwandi last night in which at least eight people were injured, three of them police officers. Officials from Shanti Nagar Police Station, who were on bandobast duty, had to resort to lathi charge to disperse the agitated mob. In the immediate aftermath, angry mobsters attacked and threw stones at the Shanti Nagar Police Chowky, as well as burnt a police motorcycle and two jeeps.

How it started
Around 4 pm, a tall tazia that was a part of a Muharram procession passing through Gayatri Nagar, caused some damage to one of the arches that had been erected outside a temple for Navratri. “Someone started throwing stones at the procession," an eyewitness said. Police authorities on standby immediately intervened and lathi-charged the crowd, managing to keep them apart – but only briefly. “When it was getting dark at around 7 pm, another procession that was passing by the same spot was stopped by a group of boys. That’s when all hell broke loose – stones were hurled at each other and the arches were broken.”