Eight people have been arrested following a clash between members of two communities over bursting of crackers during Diwali celebrations in Abdulla Khan village in Shamli district, officials said on Wednesday.

Additional Superintendent of Police Santosh Kumar

Singh told reporters that a case has been registered against the accused.

The arrested individuals have been identified as Sabir, Husain, Kadir, Suhail, Muqadas, Bhura, another Kadir, and Azam. The arrests were made on Tuesday night.

According to a complaint lodged by Vinod Kumar, the incident occurred hen some people were bursting crackers to celebrate Diwali.

A few villagers objected, leading to a heated argument that soon turned violent. Two men, identified as Ankur and Arvind, sustained injuries during the clash.

Police have tightened security in the village, and additional forces have been deployed to prevent any further disturbance, officials added.

In another incident in Ballia, A criminal carrying a reward of Rs 50,000 on his head was arrested after an encounter with police here, officials said on Wednesday.

The accused, identified as Vikas Sonkar of Deoria district, was injured in the encounter and hospitalised, the police officials said.

Assistant Superintendent of Police (North) Dinesh Kumar Shukla said a joint team of

the Special Operations Group and local police signalled two men on a motorcycle to stop near Malera village late on Tuesday night.

However, the two tried to flee and opened fire, prompting police to retaliate.

Sonkar was shot in both legs during the exchange of fire and was caught. He has been admitted to the district hospital. His accomplice escaped under the cover of darkness and efforts are being made to arrest him, the ASP said.