Curfew was last night imposed in this town in Madhya Pradesh after a clash between members of two communities which left seven persons injured, three of them with gunshot wounds, and saw a number of shops and vehicles being torched, the police said today.

The police lathi-charged the rioters and lobbed teargas shells before being forced to fire in the air as the situation got out of control, Additional Superintendent of Police, Mukesh Vaishya, told reporters.

So far, 33 persons have been arrested for the violence which left seven persons injured. Three of those suffered bullet injuries but it was not clear whether they were wounded in firing by the clashing mob or in police firing, he added.

The clash took place after two youths from separate communities got into a heated argument over a seat on a Raisen -bound bus. After the bus reached the town, which is situated about 50km away from state capital Bhopal, the two youths called their respective supporters and the matter then soon got out of control