Incidentally, the two Muslim youths who eloped with girls of Randhikpur village on June 24 belonged to the Muslim-dominated Sanjeli village.

Curfew was relaxed for three hours on Monday, when Minister of State for Home Haren Pandya, Special Inspector-General of Police D D Tuteja and Dahod DSP K L N Rao visited the village.

According to DSP (HQ) K P Chaudhary, the police fired 45 rounds and lobbed 13 teargas shells. Two persons were injured in a private firing incident, he said, while about a dozen policemen sustained minor injuries.

Official sources as well as eyewitnesses told Express Newsline that the trouble began around noon on Saturday following a petty tiff between a larriwalla and some people. ``No one knows what happened after that, as slogans began to be raised and stones began to pelt houses and business establishments'', an eye-witness said on condition of anonymity.

``There was absolute panic in the village.''

According to sources, the police did nothing to check the violence till the evening -- after curfew had been imposed when extra forces were sent to the village.

A company of the State Reserve Police and 50 jawans of the Godhra police station are reportedly camping in Sanjeli.

Talking to Express Newsline from Godhra, senior Congress leader Abdul Rahim Khalpa said though curfew had been relaxed for a while from noon on Monday, there was utter confusion about ``the whole episode, which was not only shameful but also very dangerous''.

The police were learnt to have arrested six people in connection with Saturday's violence.

Talking to Express Newsline, Director-General of Police C P Singh claimed the situation in Sanjeli was ``peaceful and under control''. The extra forces had been stationed in the village to prevent further disturbances, he said, adding that five first information reports, naming a total of 17 people, had been registered in connection with the incident.

Chief Minister Keshubhai Patel, who also holds the Home portfolio, meanwhile, was learnt to have discussed the law and order situation with Pandya and senior officials of the State Home Department.

Officials of the Home Department, however, declined to spell out the exact reason for the fresh bout of violence at Sanjeli.