Vaoddara: Communal clashes broke out in Panigate area of Vadodara city at around one am in the night, in which a petrol bomb was thrown at a local police officer. The clash happened right on the night of Diwali, the biggest Hindu festival of the year.

The stone pelting between two groups occurred at 1 am in Panigate area after street lights went off suddenly. The accused torched vehicles parked on the road sides. The police and fire brigade later arrived at the spot. A petrol bomb was thrown on DCP zone-3 Yashpal Jaganiya from a house in the area. However, he survived the attack. The police staff including local police, SOG, crime branch team arrived at the spot. The police have filed an FIR and nabbed 19 accused.

The stone were thrown from Panigate based Muslim medical centre towards Swaminarayan Mandir. The clashes occurred over bursting crackers on Diwali, it is learnt. However, the police managed to control the situation. The police arranged bandobast in the area to prevent similar incidents again.