Friday night: Two communities clash with stones as a Durga immersion procession passes through a Muslim locality amid provocative chants. Rumours of Hindu deaths raise the temperature

Sunday evening: Police’s belated attempt to stop a VHP motorcycle rally in protest at the immersion violence triggers street mayhem

Crippled by curfew and numbed by unfamiliar violence, the 1,000-year-old city of Cuttack was on Monday left pondering the quick unravelling of its proud culture of bhaichara (brotherhood) and communal harmony.

The city has been under a 36-hour curfew till Tuesday morning following Sunday’s clashes between police and Vishwa Hindu Parishad activists, who stormed and vandalised a mall and torched roadside shops. Internet services are suspended till 7pm on Tuesday.

As police patrolled the barricaded streets, a pall seemed to descend on the city with hardly anyone willing to talk to the media. Senior politicians appealed for calm and stressed Cuttack’s proud history of amity.

But a communal conflict was perhaps only a matter of time. Odisha has seen a sharp rise in hate since the BJP’s rise to power last year, with Christians facing attacks, a nun being pulled out of a train and harassed, and cow thugs running amok.

On Friday night, an immersion procession was passing through a Muslim locality near Dargha Bazar when chants of “Jai Shri Ram” and loud music appeared to touch a raw nerve. Words, and then a hail of stones, were exchanged.

Mohammad Asif, a local grocer, hinted at mischief saying the initial fracas had been contained before a sudden flare-up.

“A communal colour was given to it. As the procession was passing through our area, a scuffle broke out between two groups over minor issues,” he said.

“All of them were drunk. We were able to pacify both groups. But it later escalated and turned violent.”

What raised passions further was a cleverly spread rumour that two Hindus had died in the street battle. Seizing the opportunity, the VHP called a Cuttack bandh on Monday and, as a curtain-raiser, organised a motorcycle rally on Sunday evening.

The organisers decided the rally — of 2,000-plus people and more than 1,000 motorbikes — would pass through the Dargha Bazar area.

Initially, the police allowed the rallyists to gather near Dargha Bazar. By the time the force asked them to leave, it was too late.

The activists went on the rampage and ransacked everything in their path. They entered a Mall and vandalised several shops and food stalls, including mutton shops. Several shops were torched outside the mall.

In the morning, the police conducted flag marches across the city. “Had they intervened effectively in time, these things could have been avoided,” a senior official said.

The police asked people not to believe rumours and issued a statement saying none died in Friday’s violence and four people were injured.

They identified the injured as Pintu Mahar, Mukesh Mahar, Subhashree Jena (all discharged on Saturday after treatment) and Sankar Biswal, who is “stable, talking and not in any danger”.

Six cops, too, were injured on Friday night. Six people — from both communities — were arrested.

Sunday’s rampage left 25 cops and six others injured. Eight people have been arrested on charges of rioting, vandalism and attacking officials.

Police commissioner S. Dev Datta Singh said the situation was under control and the city was returning to normality.

A series of appeals and public statements extolled Cuttack’s tradition of communal harmony.

Raj Kishore Mishra, secretary, Dargha Bazar Puja Committee, said: “Our Puja committee has many Muslim members. We never saw such a riot in Cuttack before.”

Mayor Subhas Singh underlined Cuttack’s “unique culture” of “Hindus and Muslims living as brothers for generations”, and said no one “should be allowed to destroy that bond”.

Cuttack MP Bhartruhari Mahatab of the BJP said: “Peace and harmony should not be destroyed.”

BJP chief minister Mohan Charan Majhi, his BJD predecessor Naveen Patnaik and local Congress MLA Sophia Firdous too appealed for peace.

Hooligans ransacked a mall in Cutatck on Sunday evening

Most people stayed indoors, with police vehicles and a few ambulances out on the streets. Those forced outdoors by medical emergencies suffered.

“I went to a hospital with my daughter, who needed to see a doctor. Since there are no buses, I can’t return home,” said Saliabala Behera, 42.