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AHMADABAD, INDIA, March 1, 2002: Chaos spread through this western Indian city Friday and the death toll over three days of Hindu-Muslim violence climbed to 251, despite patrols by hundreds of soldiers and orders for police to shoot rioters and arsonists on sight. In the worst attack, hundreds of Hindus set fire to huts in a Muslim shantytown, killing 52 people as they slept, police said. After 27 charred bodies were pulled from the ashes, an additional 25 people died in the hospital; officials said 17 were being treated for serious burns. The Hindu attacks are revenge for a Muslim attack on a train Wednesday, in which 58 people died, mostly Hindus. Gangs of Hindus blockaded roads, searched cars for Muslims and set fire to shops and homes, continuing the rampages of the day before. Victims slain Thursday lay where they fell through the night, with guns firing, fires burning and chilling mob war cries. After dawn, survivors ventured out to collect their dead and seek treatment for their wounds. People streamed into hospitals, mostly for treatment of stab wounds, but also for safety. Police opened fire at Muslims and Hindus who were tossing bombs at each other near a mosque in the suburb of Bapunagar, said Deputy Police Commissioner R.J. Savani. He said six were killed and 70 were hospitalized, but gave no further details. “All through Thursday we were busy trying to protect the Muslims from attacks from Hindus, but since this morning the retaliation has started,” Savani said. “It has now turned to group clashes.” The fiery train attack in the small town of Godhra killed 58, including 14 children; 42 others were injured, including 20 hospitalized for burns or smoke inhalation. Police said 63 people had been arrested on charges of murder and attempted murder in the train attack. The Hindu groups said that action was not enough, and called for a nationwide strike on Friday, but that did not materialize. There was little evidence of the strike or violence elsewhere, including the national capital of New Delhi, although police were out in force. Despite curfews in 36 towns in Gujarat state, there was no let up in arson, looting and assaults, prompting Muslim groups to call for direct federal rule in the state. Most of the Muslims in the shantytown of Narora, on the outskirts of Ahmadabad, had fled Thursday, fearing they would be targets of the Hindus roaming the city as police watched, unwilling or unable to stop them. But the fire sparked at 2:00 a.m. trapped sleeping shanty dwellers who stayed behind, said Deputy Police Commissioner P.B. Gondya. Seven women and eight children were among the bodies recovered. In Thursday’s worst violence, 2,000 Hindus set fire to six homes in an affluent Muslim neighborhood in Ahmadabad. At least 38 people burned to death, including 12 children. Hundreds of Muslim homes, stores, hotels, and restaurants were torched or looted by the attackers. “Police can’t protect each lane and bylane,” said Police Commissioner P.C. Pandey, responding to criticism that thousands of police watched silently as Hindus targeted Muslims. Tensions have been growing between Muslims and Hindu nationalists who have been traveling across Gujarat by train to Ayodhya, in northern India, where the Vishwa Hindu Parishad plans to start constructing a temple next month at the birthplace of Lord Rama.

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