While an FIR under Sections 295, 295A and 153A was eventually registered, there appears to have been some delay, and the situation spun out of control at some point in this duration.
Some in the mob began to overturn vehicles parked on the police station premises, and set fire to the building. Several people were carrying locally-made firearms, and they started shooting, officers said.
“After the firing started, we instructed the policemen present to return fire. Shots were fired by the police. It was only after this that the situation was brought under control,” DM Upadhyaya said.
Some officials said the attack may not have been entirely spontaneous. At the most dangerous time, the 20-30 policemen at the police station were facing perhaps a 3,000-strong mob. The violence happened at the time of the weekly Friday bazaar, when the area outside the police station is the most crowded.