Doctors went on strike in the northern city of Merit Wednesday after several were assaulted by relatives of those who perished in this week's trade fair fire, officials said.
Fighting erupted at a mortuary after reports that four human skulls had been found in a garbage bin, said physician and union leader Ashish Chaudhry.
Seven doctors and several paramedics were attacked and windows at the mortuary smashed, he said, amid concerns victims' bodies were being dumped to cover up the extent of the tragedy.
"Some of our staff are serious, some of them have head injuries.. The doctors will not resume work till the administration gives them security," said Chaudhry, secretary of the doctors' association of Uttar Pradesh state.
More than 50 victims burnt in the fire that engulfed large tents packed with shoppers at the fair in Merit are being treated at the city's two state-run hospitals.
"We have no option but to stop attending on them. I can not ask doctors to attend duties in this insecure atmosphere," said chief medical officer N. Bajpayee.
Angry protesters also attacked the offices of the city administrator, accusing staff of concealing the death toll, officials said. Police also clashed with protesters while angry relatives stormed a news conference.
"A large number of men stormed our office shouting anti-administration slogans and caused considerable damage to property," a secretarial staff of the administrator told AFP by telephone. The official toll of 33 was dismissed by leading media Wednesday as a cover-up and far too low.
Senior officials, including the city police chief, said Monday night at least 100 died and predicted the final count would be higher. But Tuesday morning the beleaguered Uttar Pradesh state chief minister Mulayam Singh Yadav announced no more than 30 could have died.
The police chief suddenly agreed it was just over 30. "There was a lot of confusion," said senior superintendent Rajiv Sabharwal.
The National Human Rights Commission called for the release of details of those killed, injured and missing in the fire.
"The Uttar Pradesh state government has also been asked to explain within two weeks whether all necessary procedures followed before necessary licences were given for organising the consumer fair," a spokesman for the watchdog told reporters in New Delhi. Emotions were running high amid accusations that bodies were being disposed of to cover up the extent of the tragedy.
"This is a clear attempt by the administration and the doctors to scale down this tragedy," said right-wing opposition state lawmaker Laxmikant Vajpayee.
"The doctors have dumped the bodies in the garbage bin. Burnt clothes have also been recovered from the site." Some rescuers Tuesday told an AFP correspondent in Merit that they strongly believed the number of those killed was much higher than announced.
State home secretary S.K. Agarwal said 131 people were injured in the inferno which gutted three air-conditioned tents displaying consumer electronics goods.
India's main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party also rejected the revised death toll. It said authorities were fudging casualty figures to cool rising public anger in Merit, 80 kilometres (50 miles) from New Delhi.
Kalraj Misra, BJP president in Uttar Pradesh, claimed authorities late Monday used bulldozers to bury traces of charred human remains.