Residents of the industrial and commercial town of Noida adjoining New Delhi staged protests on Sunday against a change in administration despite a tight vigil by riot police, reports said.
Police chased stone-throwing crowds in Noida and battled groups erecting road blocks and stalling traffic for the fifth straight day, the Hindi-language Zee TV news network reported.
Shops and businesses remained closed and traffic was affected as traders' organisations called for a shutdown.
Police took about a dozen people into preventive custody Sunday, the channel reported, adding policemen broke up protests as soon as groups gathered in Noida, where several multinational companies have their headquarters.
Indian media reports said 30 people have been injured in the protests.
Since Wednesday, mobs throwing stones, setting up roadblocks and torching cars, have battled with police in areas affected by the administration changes, reports said.
The anger was sparked by an announcement that nine districts including Noida, all falling into India's most populous state of Uttar Pradesh, were to be "denotified" - a move which would see resources being withdrawn from the area. The Uttar Pradesh government argues that the current government machinery - police and administration offices - required to maintain the nine districts formed in 1997 were a drain on resources.
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