Violence broke out in Kanpur town of Uttar Pradesh late Tuesday over the route of a religious procession, officials said Wednesday.
The incident was triggered when the district administration did not allow some people to take out a Ram Navami procession through a certain route in Sundernagar area of Kalyanpur, 120 km from here.
Angry at being denied permission, the mob started pelting stones in which many district officials, policemen, women and children were injured.
The matter was put at rest after senior officials intervened, but took an ugly turn late Tuesday when the crowd pelted stones again and set some vehicles on fire.
Police resorted to cane charge amid which some miscreants opened fire, officials told IANS. As the situation spun out of control, police lobbed tear gas shells and fired rubber pellets at the mob.
The situation could be brought under control only after midnight and security personnel were deployed in the area.