Police coverup claims spark riots

Rioters set fire to a police building and vehicles in the southwest over allegations of a coverup in a girl’s death, according to Chinese accounts on the Internet.

The reports of the clash in Wengan County, in Guizhou province, depicted a violent outburst involving thousands of people and lasting hours.

Residents were enraged by allegations that police had ignored a family’s claim that their 15-year-old daughter, whose body was found in a river a week ago, appeared to have been raped and possibly slain, the accounts said.

Blogs linked to the Chinese website www.sina.com.cn showed pictures of thousands of people surrounding a police headquarters. The accounts said a youth alleged to have attacked the girl may have been the son of a senior county official or police officer.