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VERAVAL, INDIA, July 28, 2004: Muslims and Hindus burned buildings and clashed with police Wednesday in a third day of sectarian riots in this western Indian town, throwing acid at officers who shot at the crowd. The unrest has left two dead and more than a dozen wounded. Thousands of police patrolled the streets, fearing the religious violence could escalate. More than 1,000 people were killed in three months of Hindu-Muslim rioting two years ago in Gujarat state, where the coastal town of Veraval is located. Police said the recent fighting began Monday when young Muslim males heckled a passing Hindu girl, sparking riots and clashes. Two small mosques and about 25 shops were burned. A curfew was lifted Wednesday but reimposed within hours after fighting broke out again, police officer T.S. Bist said.



Police fired about 20 rounds at crowds that were burning shops and fish warehouses, Bist said. Six protesters were hospitalized. Rioters retaliated by throwing acid bombs at police officers, four of whom were hospitalized, Bist said. The violence spread to Rajkot, another town in Gujarat state, where Hindus and Muslims clashed Wednesday. Officers fired tear gas and used bamboo sticks to break up rioters, who also burned two cars, police said. Muslim residents of Veraval demanded the reconstruction of three Islamic shrines they said were burned by Hindus.



Veraval, is located 220 miles southwest of Ahmadabad, Gujarat’s main commercial center. The riots two years ago erupted after 60 Hindus traveling in a train were burned to death in an attack by a Muslim mob.

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