CALCUTTA: Troops were called out today [Feb 9] to help the Civil Administration in maintaining law and order in certain parts of Calcutta, covering a population of over 2,500,000, following incendiarism and looting of shops and houses in Manicktolla area.

The Police Commissioner clamped down a three-day dusk to dawn curfew over the city and suburbs `for the maintenance of peace`.

The police opened fire after stray cases of assault, arson and looting.

One person died in hospital early this morning shortly after he was admitted with a bullet wound in his head. The police arrested 20 people and two daggers were recovered. In an incident last night one person was killed and two injured. Later in the day over 12 persons were admitted to hospital, some of them bearing bullet wounds. News agencies [Meanwhile, as reported by a correspondent,] Karachi shivered under the spell of the Polar cold wave which had set in late on Wednesday [Feb 8]. The mercury shrank ...

to 48 degrees at day break on Thursday, and did not go above 61 degrees (eight degrees below the minimum recorded on Wednesday and 11 degrees below maximum).