New Delhi: Riot police were patrolling urban neighbourhoods near India’s capital on Wednesday following a second night of sectarian riots that have killed six people so far.
The unrest began on Monday when mobs hurled stones at a Hindu religious procession and set cars alight in the predominantly Muslim district of Nuh, around 75 kilometres south of New Delhi.
“The procession was meant to move from one temple to another but clashes broke out between two groups on the way, which resulted in the death of four people,” Krishan Kumar, spokesperson of Nuh police, told a foreign news agency.
He said two of the dead were members of the home guard, a voluntary force that helps police control civil disturbances. Another 10 police personnel were injured in the clashes, he added.
The violence spilled over into neighbouring Gurugram, where a mosque was torched around midnight, killing one person and injuring another.
Gurugram, formerly known as Gurgaon, shares a border with New Delhi and has emerged as a business hub for the country, housing several multinational companies.
Prohibitory orders had already been issued for the district after some cars were set on fire on Monday evening, and schools and colleges had been directed to remain closed on Tuesday.
“The attackers (who torched the mosque) have been identified and several of them have been rounded up,” Gurgaon Police said in a statement on Tuesday morning, adding that security around places of worship had also been tightened.
