Indian police fatally shot two people in eastern India as they tried to disperse a mob attacking churches, bringing the death toll in recent violent Hindu-Christian clashes to at least 19, police said Sunday. The clash occurred late Saturday in the remote Kandhamal district, which has been at the center of religious violence sparked by the killing of a Hindu religious leader, Orissa state police Chief Gopal Chandra Nanda said. «The police and paramilitary forces were trying to disperse a rampaging mob of rioters when some people in the mob opened fire at the security personnel, seriously injuring one paramilitary man, » said Nanda. «Police also opened fire in return, killing two people on the spot.» More than 20 homes of Christians and a prayer hall were burned over the weekend and five people were arrested, he was quoted as saying by the Associated Press. Khandamal is about 155 miles (250 kilometers) west of Bhubaneshwar, the capital of Orissa. The Press Trust of India news agency reported that several churches were also attacked and stoned in the southern city of Mangalore. There were no reports of injuries, it said.
