13 policemen suspended following riots in Agra

INDIA: Thirteen policemen were suspended Thursday for failing to prevent rioting that left one person dead and 20 injured in the northern Indian city that is home to the Taj Mahal, a police official said.

Rioters set fire to 20 vehicles and blocked roads Wednesday in Agra - 210 kilometers (130 miles) northwest of New Delhi - after four men were hit and killed by a truck. A curfew was later imposed to restore order.

The 13 police officers were suspended for dereliction of duty because they failed to reach the accident site quickly enough, and for failing to control the angry people at the scene, Senior Superintendent of Police Hari Ram Sharma said.

The victims of the truck accident, all Muslims, were walking home after a religious festival, said Vikram Singh, the director-general of police in Lucknow, the state capital of Uttar Pradesh.

People came out on the streets throwing stones at the police and armed riot police were sent to quell the violence.

One person was shot dead and 20 others were injured, Sharma said. The injured included six police, four firefighters and 10 civilians.

Yesterday the city was calm and the Taj Mahal and other historic monuments outside the curfew zone were open to tourists. But a government advisory to residents and tourists warned against venturing outside, Sharma said.

All schools and colleges in the city will remain closed till Saturday, local government spokesman J.N. Chambers told media Wednesday.

The Nai Mandi neighborhood of Agra where the accident occurred is home to both Hindus and Muslims and the two communities have often clashed. But Chambers said the rioting was not sectarian.

The white-marble Taj Mahal is a monument built by the Mogul Emperor Shah Jahan between 1632 and 1654 for his favorite wife, Mumtaz Mahal.

New Delhi, Thursday, AP