The demons continue to haunt Dariapur. For over five hours on September 17, the riot-prone area within the walled city of Ahmedabad witnessed an orgy of killing, looting and arson. Polling for the municipal elections was reduced to a bloodbath as police firing and random stabbing left 8 dead and more than 40 injured.

Confusion reigned supreme over whether the violence was poll-related or communal ... The victims, three of whom died on the spot, were all young. One of them ... was a Congress Seva Dal office-bearer and another ... a close relative of a former BJP corporator ..

This is a way confirmed the police version that violence broke out following a scuffle between rival political camps. According to Police Commissioner some political workers caught a rival partyman indulging in bogus voting and stabbed him. This led to more violence. Dariapur has always been a communal sensitive area. Add to this its reputation for being the hub of anti-socials and bootleggers.  Nonetheless, with many eyewitnesses terming the firming "unprovoked", the role of the police is under scrutiny.

The state government, which has announced a compensation of Rs.2 lakh to the families of the victims, has ordered a judicial inquiry. "It is both communal and poll-related, so an inquiry has been ordered", said Minister of State for Home Haren Pandya.

The Congress leadership, meanwhile, is demanding Pandya's resignation for the failure of the police to contain the situation ... Senior police officers admitted in private that effective deployment of the police and para-military forces could have helped avoid the killings and arson ...

Following the violence; polling was suspended and curfew clamped. However, after September 18 passed peacefully, curfew was relaxed ... Union Ministers Manohar Joshi and Suresh Prabha, both Shiv Sena members ... conveyed Shiy Sena chief Bal Thackeray's "unhappiness over the killing of Hindus" even though half the victims were Muslims. Joshi blamed BJP president Bangaru Laxman's overtures to Muslims for the rise in such violence ... Meanwhile, an uneasy calm prevails in the narrow bylanes of Dariapur. (Source: The Week, 1 Oct., 2000)