Federal police deployed and schools shut on Monday after communal rioting left one 12-year-old boy dead and 22 people injuried.
BANGALORE: Federal police were deployed and schools were shut in India's technology hub on Monday after communal rioting between Hindus and Muslims left one 12-year-old boy dead and 22 people injuried.
Protests by thousands of Muslims against last month's execution of Saddam Hussein in Iraq sparked a chain of violence over the weekend between the minority Muslims and nationalist Hindus, police and witnesses said.
Riot police patrolled empty streets of downtown Bangalore on Monday but operations in the city's numerous software firms and call centres, mostly outside the city centre, were unaffected.
"We are working. There is no change in our schedule," said a spokeswoman for Infosys Technologies Ltd., India's second-largest software exporter.
Muslims protesting against the execution of Iraq's toppled president clashed with police on Friday, ransacking shops owned by Hindus and burning at least 15 cars.
Protesters at a rally on Sunday of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (National Volunteer Crops) then attacked shops owned by minority Muslims and stoned vehicles, forcing police to fire on rampaging crowds.
"All steps are being taken to bring the city to normalcy," Karnataka State Home Minister MP Prakash told reporters.
Police said the violence was sparked off when a banner relating to a Hindu religious gathering was allegedly removed by a group of people who were on their way to attend a rally to condemn the Saddam execution.
This led to tension and stone pelting and the crowd soon went on a rampage, scorching buses and attacking private property. The violence spread to many parts of the city, with east and northeast Bangalore being the worst hit.
More than 300 people were arrested or detained on charges of rioting, police said.
Following the violence in the Shivaji Nagar area, police imposed night curfew from 10 pm to 7 am in the troubled areas of the city.
The injured, including eight police constables, were admitted to the Bowring Hospital. The condition of Thimmaiah, a police constable who was stabbed, was said to be critical.
Shivaji Nagar and Bharati Nagar areas had witnessed mob violence on Friday after group clashes during a demonstration against Saddam's execution. The violence had left at least 20 people injured.
On Sunday, the mob set fire to as many as three buses in Bamboo Bazaar area. Three auto-rickshaws were damaged near the Ulsoor Lake.
Around 400 police personnel were deployed in Shivaji Nagar and Bharati Nagar, with officials said the situation was tense but under control.
Stray incidents of violence were also reported from areas like Bangalore Cantonment and Old Madras Road.
The situation in other city localities like Kamaraj Road, Armstrong road, Sappers road, Commercial street, Shivchetty garden, Bamboo Bazar, Coles Park, Cock Burn street, Ulsoor lake, Assay Road, Gangadhara Chetty road, Old Madras Road and Indira Nagar also continued to be tense.
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