Indians riot after statue desecration 30/11/2006 - 17:11:24
Low-caste Indian groups protesting the desecration of their leader’s statue burned train cars, buses and clashed with police in western India today in violence that left at least two people dead and 40 injured, police said.
Authorities imposed curfews in three districts of western Maharashtra state today, police said, to control rampaging protesters who had forced shops and businesses to shut down across the state, including in parts of Mumbai, India’s financial and entertainment capital.
The violence came after a statue of BR Ambedkar, one of India’s prominent freedom fighters and a leader of low-caste people, was damaged in the northern Indian city of Kanpur yesterday.
At least two people were killed, said PS Pasricha, police chief of western Maharashtra state. As the violence escalated, 40 people were injured in clashes with police.
The Press Trust of India news agency, however, put the death toll at three and the number of injured at 60.
Millions of low-caste Hindus, also known as dalits or untouchables, revere Ambedkar, who fought against caste discrimination and was the architect of the Indian constitution's provision on affirmative action.
More than 1,500 preventative arrests were made today, said Pasricha.
“Buses and trains have been damaged in stone-throwing and arson, but the situation is now under control,” Pasricha said.
Some schools also closed in Maharashtra.
Trouble began today when thousands of low-caste Indians set out on marches across the state to protest the defilement of Ambedkar’s statue. Incidents of mobs pelting police with stones were reported in eastern districts such as Nanded, Pimpri and Osmanabad.
Mobs torched 30 buses across the state and set fire to two trains in Mumbai, India’s financial capital, formerly known as Bombay.
Vehicles plying busy city roads and state highways were also targeted and shops and businesses were forced to close in some areas of the city.
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