Kashmir clashes claim 2 lives
2008-08-06 08:28
Srinagar - Two police officers were killed on Tuesday when thousands of angry Hindus in Indian Kashmir stormed a police post as religious tensions reached a new pitch in the insurgency-racked state, police said.
The police officers were killed when the protesters attacked the isolated police post in the mainly Hindu region of Jourian in the south of the Muslim-majority state.
A rescue team "could not reach the spot in time to save them", said a senior police official, asking not to be named.
Some 4 000 Hindus were involved in the attack, he said, adding he had no more details.
New turmoil
The latest violence erupted after the state government reneged on a plan to transfer land to a Hindu shrine, plunging Kashmir - already in the grip of an Islamic separatist insurgency - into new turmoil.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh scheduled an all-party meeting in New Delhi for Wednesday to discuss how to defuse tensions in Kashmir - India's only Muslim-majority state.
"We will keep up the protests until the land is given back to the shrine," said Leela Karan Sharma, head of a Hindu alliance spearheading the protests.
Kashmir, where the 19-year revolt has left at least 43 000 dead, had been enjoying a lull in violence against the backdrop of India's peace process with Pakistan to settle the disputed region's future when the row erupted in June.
Houses set alight
In the valley, meanwhile, protesters hurling bricks battled police in the state's main city Srinagar as fury intensified over attacks on Muslims by Hindus in the Jammu area.
Tensions were stoked by the death the previous day of a Muslim protester hit by a police tear gas shell in Srinagar.
Protesters blocked roads and set vehicles ablaze. Police used teargas and batons to disperse the rioters. Police said 13 people were hurt in the clashes.
Jammu's Muslims alleged many of their houses were set ablaze by Hindu rioters and said they were getting threats to leave the region.
A police official reported only a "few arson incidents" and said "we are trying our best to restore order".