BOMBAY, 13 October — Two people died yesterday as Hindus and Muslims clashed in the western town of Solapur in continuing violence triggered by comments against the Prophet Muhammad by US preacher Jerry Falwell.
“One died when police opened fire to disperse mobs who were setting shops on fire and another was killed in a stabbing incident,” Manikrao Thakre, deputy interior minister of the Maharashtra state, said.
“We have stepped up security. Over 2,000 police officials are patrolling the troubled areas.”
Five people died on Friday in the town, about 450 km from Bombay, in communal violence sparked by the pastor’s comments.
Authorities imposed curfew after Friday’s killings but rampaging mobs roamed the city, ravaged shops and pelted stones at policemen, officials said. “Mobs have pulled some people out of their homes and set their houses on fire. In some places vehicles were charred,” D.V. Swami, an official at the city’s police control room, said.
He said police had fired warning shots in at least a dozen areas in the city to control mobs which were setting a row of shops ablaze.
“The situation is very tense,” he said.
“Groups of people wielding swords and sticks were rioting in different parts of the city. If one group was controlled then trouble was erupting in another part,” he said.
Earlier yesterday, police fired warning shots to disperse a crowd of nearly 2,000 protesters, some armed with swords and knives.
Falwell is a conservative Baptist and leading voice for the Christian right in America. Shops, businesses and schools were closed in Kashmir’s main city of Srinagar on Monday in a protest against Falwell’s remarks.
