From: "Curtis Price" <cansv-AT-igc.apc.org>
Date:          Mon, 14 Jul 1997 11:38:00 +0000
Subject: AUT: (Fwd) Strike paralyses India's commercial capital


------- Forwarded Message Follows -------
Date:          Sat, 12 Jul 1997 03:22:26 -0700
From:          NewsHound <NewsHound-AT-hound.com>

Reply-to:      NewsHound-AT-hound.com
Subject:       Strike paralyses India's commercial capital



NewsHound article from "RIOTS" hound, score "81."



Strike paralyses India's commercial capital

BOMBAY, July 12 (Reuter) - A strike called in protest over Friday's police
shooting at a crowd of demonstrators paralysed life in India's main
commercial city Bombay on Saturday, police said.

They said protesters in several locations threw stones at passing vehicles
venturing out on a day when most of the city's 13 million people stayed
indoors to avoid the strike called by all opposition parties.

Woman and children joined protesters squatting at road junctions and
railway tracks to stop vehicles and trains, forcing thousands of people to
walk to work.

A limited number of buses continued on relatively unaffected routes, police
said.

``There was trouble here and there. But the overall situation is normal,''
said a police spokesman.

Ten people were killed on Friday when police opened fire on a crowd
protesting at the desecration of the statue of Bhimrao Ambedkar, a revered
leader of the lower social classes, on a Bombay suburb.

The atmosphere remained tense at the site of the shooting and special
>>riot<< police were deployed in large numbers.

Passengers were held up at Bombay's domestic and international airports,
but flights were not affected.

Police diverted traffic in most areas and sent people away from trouble
spots. Instant cricket sprung up on empty roads with children having a
field day.

Leaders of the Republican Party of India (RPI), which represents lower
castes who deify Ambedkar, said the strike was a success.

Opposition leaders demanded dismissal of the state government, ruled by the
right-wing Hindu militant Shiv Sena and the nationalist Bharatiya Janata
Party.  REUTER Reut05:35 07-12-97 

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