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AHMEDABAD/VADODARA, INDIA, March 31, 2002: Hours after chief minister Narendra Modi claimed in Mumbai on Saturday that Gujarat was returning to normal, violence broke out in many parts of the state late in the night claiming at least nine lives. The incidents come four days prior to Prime Minister Vajpayee’s scheduled visit to the state amid frantic attempts by the government to show a semblance of normal functioning. Meanwhile, Modi has arrived in Delhi following a summons by the PM. The toll in the riots and violence in the state since February 28 has risen to 800. Violence has claimed 325 lives in Ahmedabad alone. The most vicious clashes were reported in the labor-dominated Gomtipur in which at least three persons were killed and 18 injured. Deaths in communal clashes overnight were also reported from Kadi in Mehsana district and Khambhat and Petlad in Anand. There were reports that at least two persons were still missing in Gomtipur and this could trigger more violence on Sunday evening. In the Gomtipur area of Ahmedabad, violence was reported from 10 pm onwards and the frenzy continued till well past midnight when army columns were called in. Heavy stone-throwing, firing and arson were reported from the area. Miscreants also set ablaze houses and shops in Samsherbagh on Nagri Mill Road and other areas like Mohanlal ni Chawl, Jhulta Minara, Sutharwada and Hauz Wali Masjid.

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