Bharatpur: The rift between two communities who clashed with each other in Bharatpur remained wide open even as the administration relaxed curfew in the riot-affected for three hours on Friday. The rise in death toll added to the mistrust between the two communities, whose representatives chose to meet the government delegation headed by Home Minister Shanti Dhariwal, separately.

Collector Krishna Kunal said, "The death toll is now 7, this includes the victim who succumbed to his injuries at the Sawai Man Singh hospital in Jaipur." Curfew was imposed in seven police station areas of Kama constituency after communal violence broke out in Gopalgarh town of Bharatpur on Wednesday. "The curfew will remain imposed in the affected areas. However there will now be a relaxation in curfew for five hours instead of three from Saturday," Krishna Kunal said.

While no untoward incident was reported on Friday, tension continued to prevail in the area as both the sides failed to reconcile their differences. The Meo community refused to accept the dead bodies of the victims and demanded a CBI inquiry into the matter. "The administration is trying to cover up the issue and has been negligent towards grievances of the victims of police atrocities. We won't take the bodies till demands are met with," a local leader Subedar Khan said. 

There was a mixed reaction to the relaxation in curfew on Friday. People refrained from travelling and came out to collect essential household goods. A majority of the shops opened for business in Gopalgarh.