Indian police extend curfew to prevent clashes

Police in India have sent reinforcements and imposed a curfew in new areas of northern Uttar Pradesh state to defuse tensions between Hindus and Muslims created by the fatal stabbing of a 24-year-old Hindu.

Schools and colleges in the violence-hit town of Gorakhpur have been closed until Saturday.

“The situation in Gorakhpur is still tense but under control,” said Uttar Pradesh state Home Secretary SK Agarwal.

Police imposed a curfew in troubled parts of Gorakhpur, 150 miles south-east of the state capital Lucknow, with orders to shoot violators on sight after Hindu activists rioted on Monday, burning buses and pelting police with stones.

Yesterday, authorities extended the indefinite curfew to parts of neighbouring Kushinagar and Padrona districts to avoid the trouble spilling into new areas, said police officer VK Verma.