At least 50 people were arrested in the Jamshedpur district of India's Jharkhand state after a clash broke out between two groups following the desecration of a religious flag.
"Over 50 miscreants have been arrested till now. The police force and surveillance teams with drones have been deployed. Action will be taken against those found involved in this," Prabhat Kumar, senior superintendent of police, East Singhbhum (Jamshedpur) area, told the news agency ANI on Monday.
As per multiple media reports, the desecrated flag of a local Hindu organization was found in the Shastri Nagar area on Saturday. It led to the situation in the area heating up between a few members of the Hindu and Muslim communities.
A few media outlets reported that miscreants hanged flesh on the flag. This prompted the Hindu group to approach the police to act against it within 24 hours.
On Sunday, members of both communities resorted to stone-pelting and arson. A mob burned an autorickshaw in the Kadma area of Jamshedpur. Half a dozen police officers suffered injuries as they tried to contain the rioters.
Police fired tear gas shells to disperse the mob and deployed Rapid Action Force (RAF) personnel, media reports said.
"Section 144 (disallowing public gathering) is imposed under which gathering of more than four person is prohibited in the area and internet services have also been suspended. We will review the situation in the evening and a take call on restoring internet services accordingly," Prabhat Kumar said.
Administration officials have also talked with the peace committee and asked people not to trust rumors.