One dead in attack on Muslim youths

14 hurt after pupils fight in Indian PM’s home state

NEW DELHI // One person was killed and 14 injured when violence erupted following a scuffle between Muslim and Hindu school pupils in Gujarat, the Indian prime minister Narendra Modi’s home state, an official said yesterday.

A crowd of about 5,000 people attacked Muslim residents and set dozens of homes and vehicles on fire in Vadavali village in Patan district on Saturday after Hindu pupils complained of misbehaviour by Muslim youngsters, said K K Nirala, the district’s senior administrative official. Some Muslim s retaliated by throwing stones. Police used tear gas and fired seven rounds to disperse the crowd, Mr Nirala said.

Gujarat has a history of serious inter-communal trouble.

Rioters killed about 1,000 people, most of them Muslims, in the state in 2002.

Mr Modi was head of the Gujarat government at the time and he was accused of turning a blind eye to one of the worst outbreaks of religious violence in independent India.

He denied involvement, and in 2013 a legal panel said there was insufficient evidence to prosecute him.

Yesterday, Mr Nirala said the situation had been brought under control.