AHMADABAD, India (AP) - A mob set on fire a train carrying Hindu activists returning from a religious ceremony, killing six people Wednesday, officials said.
At least 17 people were injured when four coaches of the Sabarmati Express train were set ablaze in Godhra in the western state of Gujarat, said K. Nityanandan, a state government official.
"So far we have confirmed the death of six people, but the toll could be higher," he said.
A senior state official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Muslims had attacked the train in Godhra, 95 miles southeast of Ahmadabad, the commercial capital of Gujarat.
The train was carrying activists belonging to a Hindu nationalist organization trying to build a temple on the site of a disputed mosque in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.
The World Hindu Council activists were returning to Gujarat after participating in religious ceremonies at Ayodhya, where Hindu nationalists plan to build a temple at the site of a 16th century Muslim mosque.
When the mosque was torn down by Hindus in 1992, it sparked nationwide riots between Hindus and Muslim and 2,000 people were killed.
More than 20,000 people have gathered in Ayodhya, 345 miles east of New Delhi, since the Council announced it would begin constructing the temple by March 15, ignoring court orders banning construction at the site.
Officials in Godhra said the mob, enraged by slogans shouting by the Hindu nationalists, attacked the train just after it left Godhra railway station in the morning. Initially they pelted stones at the train, and later set four coaches ablaze, said Gordhan Zadaphia, the state home minister.
Witnesses said at least 10 people had died and 18 were injured.
"At least 2,000 people surrounded the coaches and set it on fire," said Harshad Gilletwalla, one of the Hindu activists on the train.
He said those killed were members of the 2,500-strong group of volunteers from Gujarat who had gone to Ayodhya to show support for the new temple construction.