Violence flares anew in western Indian town

INDIA: Violence flared again Wednesday in a western Indian town as another death pushed the death toll in three days of rioting between Hindus and Muslims to seven, media reports said.

Mobs surrounded a car and set it on fire overnight, killing a man in Vadodara town in Gujarat state while at least two other men were injured when rioters pelted rival groups with stones, state-run All India Radio said Wednesday.

The charred remains of the man were retrieved by the police early Wednesday, the radio station said.

The federal government on Wednesday announced that it was sending additional paramilitary troops to control the violence that erupted in Vadodara on Monday after authorities tried to demolish a small Muslim shrine.

The shrine, which was torn down, was destroyed as part of a drive to remove religious structures - be they Hindu or Muslim - that obstruct the flow of traffic, officials have said.

Four people died after being shot by police trying to stop the violence, and two others died from stab wounds sustained during the rioting that broke out when municipal teams reached the site to start the demolition.

Police re-imposed curfew in at least six neighborhoods of the city early Wednesday after mobs of Hindus and Muslims were spotted on the streets, the radio station said.

Vadodara and other Gujarat towns witnessed intense religious riots in 2002 in which some 1,000 Muslims were killed. The state government, headed by the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party, was widely accused of looking the other way and doing little to prevent the rioting.

On Tuesday, authorities rejected allegations that police were acting against the Muslim community.

"This is not the only incident of an anti-encroachment demolition. Many temples have also been pulled down," Swarup said. "No particular religious structures were targeted. Local Muslims were informed well in advance and they had agreed to the shrine being removed."

Vadodara is 110 kilometers (70 miles) north of Gujarat's main city, Ahmadabad.

Ahmadabad,Wednesday AP