AHMEDABAD, 19 February 2004 — Fifteen people, including three policemen, were injured yesterday in a clash between police and Muslim protesters in the riot-scarred west Indian state of Gujarat, police said.
The incident occurred in Godhra town, where 59 Hindus were burnt to death in a train compartment in 2002 allegedly by a Muslim mob — triggering months of bloody Hindu-Muslim rioting in which nearly 2,000 people, mostly Muslims, were killed.
Yesterday, when police entered the predominantly Muslim area of Shatpool to arrest two people accused over the Godhra train carnage, a mob stood in their way, superintendent of police Piyush Patel said.
“As soon as the police reached Shatpool to arrest Salim Panwala and another Godhra accused, a huge crowd of Muslims collected and began pelting (them with) stones,” he said.
Police fired four warning shots into the air and threw several teargas canisters to control the mob.
In the rioting, 12 people were injured while a police sub-inspector and two head constables were also hurt, Patel said.
