Two girls were burnt to death in sectarian rioting between Hindus and Muslims sparked by the death of a youth in India's most populous state of Uttar Pradesh, police said Monday. "Over 100 houses were set ablaze in a Hindu-Muslim clash in which two girls were charred to death," Prem Prakash, a police official told AFP.
The incident in Pratapgarh, 200 kilometres south-east of the state capital Lucknow, came after a Hindu youth was gunned down by unidentified people in a village market Sunday evening.
"The murder triggered a communal flare up when Hindus armed with rods and sticks torched houses of Muslims," Prakash said.
"Riot police have been sent to the village to control the situation," he said. "Over 100 people have been arrested. The situation is still tense."