New Delhi - At least three people, including a teenager, were killed in clashes Thursday between Muslims and Hindus over the desecration of a mosque in India's southern state of Karnataka, news reports said. The trouble began in Mysore - about 140 kilometres south of the state capital, Bangalore - after a pig carcass was found near the Alima mosque, the IANS news agency reported.
Police said an angry exchange of words between members of the two communities led to the clashes.
A 47-year-old labourer who was on his way to work was caught in the melee and was stabbed to death.
Two other people, including a 15-year-old, died of stab wounds in the riot later, police said.
Police fired tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse the crowd, which had swelled to 800.
Three people who were wounded in the clashes were treated in a state-run hospital.
"The situation is tense but under control," state Home Minister BS Acharya told the NDTV network. "We have already deployed additional police forces to prevent further violence."
Relations between Hindus, who account for 80 per cent of India's billion-plus population, and Muslims, who make up 15.1 per cent and are the country's largest religious minority, have largely been peaceful in recent years, but sporadic incidents of violence have occurred.
