24 die in drive to evict squatters from state lands in India

At least 24 people have died amid police efforts to evict thousands of squatters in a makeshift protest camp in the north Indian city of Mathura.

More than 370 people were arrested for alleged involvement in the violence, during which gas cylinders being used by the protesters for cooking exploded and started a fire that killed 11.

The victims included two officers who were gunned down when the violence began late on Thursday in the ancient Hindu temple city on the Yamuna River, over 300km south-west of Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh state.