Three killed in anti-Bush protest
A protest against a visit to India by US President George Bush turned into a clash between Hindus and Muslims today that left three people dead and 18 injured, police said.
The violence in the city of Lucknow, capital of Uttar Pradesh state, erupted when dozens of armed Muslims tried to force Hindu shop owners to shut their stores to protest Bush’s visit, said police spokesman Surendra Srivastava. Police have since brought the violence under control, he said.
Bush left for Pakistan late today.
The Lucknow clash came amid anti-Bush demonstrations in various Indian cities by communists and Muslim groups, which had demanded he not be allowed into the country.
In Lucknow, the two sides argued, exchanged blows, and finally shot at each other, killing three people including a young boy, Srivastava said. The rioters damaged at least 17 shops and smashed dozens of cars, he said.
Earlier, in a nearby part of the same city, protesters hurled stones at shops and at police in the old parts of Lucknow, where most of the city’s Muslims live.
Television stations showed shrieking people carrying the injured on fruit carts through narrow streets choked with protesters.
Hindus and Muslims have for years lived in peace in Lucknow, and tensions are rare.
