HYDERABAD: Police killed three people after opening fire to break up religious clashes in southern India on Wednesday, officers and media reports said.

The violence broke out in the old quarter of Hyderabad, the capital of Andhra Pradesh, which has a sizeable Muslim population.

Trouble erupted after some people attacked houses and shops of a religious minority following rumours that a religious flag had been burnt.

Security forces clamped a curfew on the area and the situation was under control, said police commissioner C.V. Anand.

Police initially tried to break up the mob using sticks but then had to “open fire to disperse the clashing groups”, Anand said.

The Press Trust of India (PTI) news agency said at least three people died in hospital of bullet wounds.

Extra police and paramilitary forces were rushed to the area as shopkeepers around Hyderabad’s historic Charminar monument downed shutters for fear of more violence.

Police in India, which has been swept by deadly religious violence numerous times in the past, are sensitive about identifying communities involved in clashes.

Hyderabad police declined to say who was involved in Wednesday’s rioting.

Anand appealed to residents to cooperate with police in restoring peace. —AFP