India caste riot toll rises

Violent protests by Gujjar community have left 37 people dead in Rajasthan state.

India
Violence erupted in several villages and towns of Rajasthan [EPA]

Rohit Kumar Singh, the state information commissioner, said on Sunday that 21 people were killed in clashes on Saturday,

 

Amanjit Singh Gill, Rajasthan’s director-general of police, said security forces in Sikandra, a town 212km north of the Indian capital, New Delhi, fired at protesters on Saturday who torched a police station and two buses and shot and wounded a policeman.

 

Reclassification would allow the Gujjars to qualify for government jobs and university places reserved for such groups.

 

A police officer was also beaten to death and at least 70 injured people during the rioting.

Source: News Agencies