An indefinite curfew was clamped on Ganj Basoda town in Vidisha district in the wake of communal tension on Tuesday. According to police, an angry mob set afire some three dozen shops and resorted to heavy stone-pelting following reports about slaughtering of a cow, according to police.

Though no casualty was reported, a dozen persons, including a couple of police personnel were reportedly injured in the rioting, police sources said.

Ganj Basoda town with a population of less than 100,000, does not have any history of communal tension. Additional police force was rushed to the town even as the police claimed the situation under control.

According to police, the trouble began in the morning when a rumour spread that a cow was being slaughtered in the house of a rickshaw-puller, identified as Salim Mian, 33, in Choori Mohalla.

As the word spread across the town, an angry mob gathered in the area and went on rampage indulging in arson and stone-pelting.

Though the accused managed to escape, a carcass and two hides were reportedly recovered from his house. The irate mob set afire over three dozen shops in the locality.

Apart from some tractors and vehicles, a couple of police jeeps were also damaged in the stone pelting. The police had to lob tear gas shells to disperse the rampaging mob. Senior officials of administration and police, including Divisional Commissioner Bhopal-Hoshangabad Satya Prakash and IG Surendra Singh rushed to the troubled town by afternoon to take stock of the situation.

The accused was involved in such activities in the past also and a similar incident was reported in 1999, a senior State police official said.

Police arrested the accused and seized the carcass and hides. An alert has been sounded in the neighbouring districts and police have stepped up vigil in sensitive areas in Vidisha, including Sironj and Kurwai. The rioters have yet to be arrested.

A high-level meeting of police officials took place at the Police headquarters here to review the situation.

Meanwhile, the BJP has constituted a party committee, headed by Sudhakar Bapat, to visit the troubled area. He said that the committee would visit Basoda on Wednesday.