Death toll in communal clashes in northern India climbs to 5

By Shuriah Niazi

NEW DELHI (AA) - Curfew has been imposed in parts of a state in northern India after five people were killed in two separate incidents of communal violence, police said Tuesday.

Authorities imposed a curfew in the Nuh district of Haryana state where four people died, the police said.

Twenty-three others were injured during the communal clashes, police added.

“Curfew has been imposed in the whole district of Nuh. Four people have been killed and 23 injured have been admitted to hospital. The situation is now under control,” Krishan Kumar, a police spokesman, told Anadolu.

The violence also spread to the neighboring district of Gurugram, where a mosque was attacked by a mob which killed at least one person, according to local police.

Clashes began on Monday in the Muslim-majority Nuh district where several cars were torched and stones were thrown at the police. The state government sought additional forces to bring the situation under control.

The police used teargas and fired shots in the air to disperse the crowd.

Internet services were suspended in the area and prohibitory orders banning large gatherings were issued.

Local sources told Anadolu that the clashes erupted after Monu Manesar, a cow vigilante wanted in several criminal cases including the February murder of two Muslim men, announced to join a religious rally in Nuh. He had reportedly called on his supporters to join him. However, he later skipped the rally.

"Monu Manesar, 30, has evaded the police since he was charged for the kidnapping and murder of two Muslim men found dead in a burnt car in February in Bhiwani," local broadcaster NDTV reported.

The burnt bodies of the two men, who belonged to the state of Rajasthan, were found in the city of Bhiwani, Haryana.

Tensions between Hindu and Muslim groups have been on the rise in recent years, with critics often accusing the state of turning a blind eye and doing little to stop the violence.