3 killed, 70 injured as violent protests continue in northern India state

Three people were killed and over 70 injured as violent protests intensified in northern Indian state of Haryana, officials said on Saturday.

The violence erupted Friday night as people from Jat agricultural community, who demanded reservation in jobs and education, looted guns from an armoury and set fire on buildings, including house of a local minister, in Rothak district of Haryana, about 78 km north of New Delhi.

The Indian army used helicopters to ferry men to affected areas for staging a flag march and enforcing a curfew after the protesters blocked roads.

The protests have spread to other districts of the state.

Authorities said they imposed curfew and issued prohibitory orders, however the protesters defying the restrictions were still crowding roads.

"This morning protesters burned railway station in Budha Kheda, besides torching a buses, cars and a petrol pump in Rohtak," an official said.

India's official broadcaster - All India radio (AIR) said three people have been killed in the clashes with police and paramilitary. The deadlock and mob violence has disrupted rail traffic, forcing authorities to cancel more than 450 trains.

"The routes of around 250 trains have been changed," the broadcaster said.

Police Chief of Haryana Y.P. Singhal told a press conference that they were struggling to restore normalcy in the state.

"We admit that available forces were not deployed the way they should have been but we are trying to maintain law and order," Singhal said. "We have asked for the reinforcements of paramilitary from center to assist us in regaining law and order in the state,"

According to Singhal, over 70 people including policemen were injured in the violence.

Meanwhile, Indian Home Minister Rajnath Singh Saturday chaired a high-level meeting in New Delhi on the Jat quota agitation row.

Authorities suspended mobile internet services in Rohtak and ordered closure of educational institutions.

The state's Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar has urged people to maintain peace.

"I appeal to all my fellow Haryanvis to maintain law and order in the state, and ensure that harmony is maintained in the society," Khattar said.

Last month, a group of protesters in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh torched a police station, several vehicles and a train.

In India quotas for lower castes and economically weaker sections are guaranteed constitutionally.

Analysts say quotas give people in India an advantage in government jobs and education.

Although Jats are listed as upper caste they are demanding the status of Other Backward Classes (OBCs), citing the quotas for other lower castes put them at a disadvantage. Endit