RAWALPINDI: A Rawalpindi district and sessions judge on Saturday handed over to the police 19 suspects allegedly involved in the Nov 15 sectarian violence in the city's Raja Bazaar on a two-day-long physical remand, DawnNews reported.

Days into the clashes between Deobandi activists and Shia mourners in Raja Bazaar, over 50 people had been arrested by the joint investigation team probing the incident.

However, 19 suspects were produced in the district and sessions court today where the judge ordered their physical remand and handed them over to the police.

The clashes had led to the deaths of nine people and forced the government to impose curfew in the city.

Rawalpindi, which has been no a stranger to sectarian violence, also witnessed similar attacks since the Nov 15 clash. One of these, a suicide attack, took place on Imambargah Asna Ashari on Dec 17, in which three people, including a policeman, were killed and 15 others were injured. The imambargah is located in the heavily guarded Gracy Lane area in Rawalpindi.

Later on Dec 30, two policemen on security at Imambargah Qasr-i-Shabbir in the city’s Dhoke Syedan area were killed while another policeman and a nearby shopkeeper were injured after four gunmen opened fire on them.