NEW DELHI, July 7: A court sentenced 14 people to life in prison on Saturday for their involvement in the killing of 116 Muslims during a month of rioting that left close to 2,000 dead in eastern India in 1989.

The killings — the worst single incident in the bout of sectarian violence -- came to light six weeks later, after vultures began circling what appeared to be a cauliflower bed but turned out to be a mass grave.

The men, convicted last month for murder and rioting among other charges, were sentenced to life by a court in Bhagalpur, the district in eastern Bihar state where the killings occurred, the Press Trust of India reported.

Six of the 24 accused in connection with the massacre died during the marathon legal proceedings while another four fled.

Some 1,800 people — mostly Muslims — were killed in a spate of clashes and arson attacks that left tens of thousands homeless.

The riots erupted during a procession by Hindu nationalists to drum up support for the demolition of a mosque on a site considered holy by Hindus.

Hindu mobs finally razed the mosque in the northern town of Ayodhya in 1992, sparking yet more religious riots in which at least 2,000 people were killed.—AFP