Two Killed In Violence In India's Gujarat

AHMADABAD, India (AP)--A Muslim bus driver was dragged out of his bus and burned alive and a Hindu man was killed in a bomb blast, police said Thursday, as violence resumed in western Gujarat state where nearly 1,000 people have died in three months of Hindu-Muslim clashes.

Both men were killed Wednesday night in Kadi, about 48 kilometers south of Ahmadabad, the commercial capital of western Gujarat.

The bus driver was dragged out of his bus and burned by a Hindu mob, said Arun Kumar Sharma, the superintendent of police of Mesana district.

The other man was taking his evening meal at a restaurant when the bomb went off. The owner of the restaurant and an auto-rickshaw driver were seriously injured as well.

Sharma said a funeral procession carrying the two bodies would be held later in the day. Four people have been detained in connection with these incidents, he said.

"I am presuming further violence, so we are not relaxing the curfew till evening," Sharma said.

Meanwhile, eight shops were burned and two vehicles, all owned by Muslims, were destroyed Thursday in Bharuch, about 180 kilometers north of Ahmadabad, police said.

Violence was also reported in the Panigate area of Vadodara district, about 112 kilometers north of Ahmadabad. Four shops were ransacked, said D.D. Tuteja, the commissioner of police in Vadodara.

The shops belonged to both Hindus and Muslims.