MUMBAI, Oct 14: Indian police said on Monday ten people had died and over 140 injured in communal violence in western India over comments by US Baptist minister Jerry Falwell against the Holy Prophet (pbuh).
“One more person succumbed to injury taking the death toll to ten,” said a police spokesman.
“However, there has been no fresh incident of violence since Sunday night. The situation continues to be tense, but under control.”
Solapur, a city of more than one million people some 600kms west of Mumbai, was hit by sectarian violence since Friday after Muslim youths protested Falwell’s derogatory remarks.
Falwell, a conservative known for his rabble-rousing remarks, on Saturday apologized for his remarks.
The Bharatiya Janata Party has called for a high-level probe into the riots.
“Why was there a reaction to Falwell’s statement only in Maharashtra and not anywhere in the world?,” said BJP spokesman Prakash Jawdekar.
“This has to be probed.”
Earlier on Sunday India’s Deputy Prime Minister Lal Krishna Advani also criticized Falwell’s explosive remarks without mentioning him by name.
“In India, where all religions are respected, if any person, any leader speaks in derogatory terms about another religious leader, it’s a breach of the law,” he told reporters in New Delhi.
“This may not be so in all countries, but I wish all countries in the world took into account the intense religious sensitivities of all religions,” he said.—AFP
