Over 50 Hindu activists die in train arson

Over 50 people are feared to have died today after a train carrying Hindu activists was set on fire by unidentified men in western…

Over 50 people are feared to have died today after a train carrying Hindu activists was set on fire by unidentified men in western India.

A senior official from the railway protection force told Reuters at least 50 bodies had been pulled off the train after the incident at Godhra, in western India.

Police and firemen could be still be seen at the railway station pulling bodies, charred beyond recognition, out of the carriage which was set on fire. The rest of the train was allowed to continue on its journey.

It was carrying Hindu activists returning from the northern town of Ayodhya where hardline Hindus are gathering ahead of plans to build a temple on the site of the razed mosque, in defiance of a court order.

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Officials said a group of unidentified men stopped the Sabarmati Expressa short distance from Godhra station in the western state of Gujarat, and set fire to one of its coaches.