New Delhi, India — At least 32 people have been slain and 200 injured in a new round of Moslem-Hindu bloodletting in the last four days in the western Indian city of Ahmedabad, Gujarat state authorities said Sunday.
Nine of the killings occurred Sunday when rival community members fought pitched street battles with rocks, knives, guns and firebombs in the old sector of Ahmedabad, Gujarat’s main city and center of the Indian textile industry.
The slayings increased to 240 the official death toll in a four month student led protest against caste based quotas in government employment and colleges.
The state government and protest leaders last week announced an agreement on settling the violent agitation which has sparked bloody sectarian rioting and arson throughout the state, home of the apostle of peace, late independence leader Mahatma Gandhi.
But the agreement appears to have done little to curb Moslem-Hindu violence which has touched off in the course of the caste protest.
The latest violence flared less than 24 hours after the new state police chief, J. F. Ribeiro, announced the complete withdrawal of all army units from Ahmedabad, Ribeiro had claimed the situation was “almost normal.”
The United News of India news agency said police shot to death six people in Ahmedabad on Sunday after two policemen were wounded by a civilian shooter.
One person was hammered to death by a mob, UNI said.
Article extracted from this publication >> July 26, 1985
