Incidents of communal violence on rise in India

Incidents of communal violence between Hindus and Muslims in India increased by 24 percent from January to May this year compared with the same period last year, said local media Wednesday.

The number of deaths due to the violence also increased by 65 percent in the same period over the previous year, said local daily The Times of India.

The report quoted official data from the Home Ministry as saying 287 communal incidents were reported from across the country this year until May 31, as compared to 232 over the same period in 2014. Deaths due to communal clashes during January-May 2015 rose to 43 from 26 and the number of injured too were higher at 961 from 701 in the first five months of last year.

The Bharatiya Janata Party government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi came to power in May 2014, replacing a Congress-led government.