Bangalore locality tense after clash

Bangalore: Shops were ransacked during a clash in Bangalore’s Shivaji Nagar that began during a protest rally against the execution of former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein.

No casualties have been reported but the place is tense and police have rushed reinforcements. The rally was organised by former railway minister C K Jakhar Sharief and other politicians.

Anti-US effigies were burnt during the rally and initial reports say the clash may have began when protesters tried to shut shops. Shivaji Nagar is a busy commercial area of the city and has an important bus terminal.

In March 2006, seven persons were injured in communal clashes in Shivaji Nagar and four persons were arrested for the violence.