3,000 Seek Shelter After New Riots Kill 86 in India
About 3,000 people took shelter in government-protected camps Tuesday after Hindu-Muslim riots that claimed at least 86 lives in areas previously untouched by religious violence.
The United News of India news agency said 200 people may have died in Monday’s violence in India’s northeast Manipur state. The report could not be confirmed independently.
Many victims were beaten or burned to death. About 300 people were injured.
The riots broke out when Muslim gun smugglers could not deliver a promised arms consignment to Hindu criminals and then beat up some Hindus, said H. V. Goswami, the top civil servant in the state, which borders Myanmar.
Most of the 3,000 people fleeing to government-protected camps were Muslims. Meanwhile, thousands of soldiers patrolled the state Tuesday. No unrest was reported, Goswami said.
At least 200 people were under arrest, he said.
Officials said the fight appeared unrelated to the Dec. 6 demolition of a Muslim mosque in the northern town of Ayodhya by Hindu fanatics, which triggered nationwide religious riots. More than 1,940 people were killed, but Manipur was spared that unrest.
Hindus and Muslims account for about two-thirds of Manipur’s 1.8 million people. The rest of the population is Christian or animist.
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