rediff.com: Police patrol Kashmir towns after Sikh-Muslim clashes

Police stepped up patrols and leading clerics called for calm in Kashmir on Friday after sectarian violence between Sikhs and Muslims provoked by a massacre of Sikh villagers.

"Security in all major towns across Kashmir state has been beefed up to prevent miscreants from making trouble," Kashmir's deputy police chief Ashok Bhan said.

Hundreds of Sikhs chanting "we will spill blood for blood" were seen heading to Chatisinghpora, a village 70 km south of Srinagar where 36 Sikhs were taken out from their homes and executed by unidentified gunmen on Monday.

Sikhs from all over Kashmir have been pouring into the village to offer condolences to the bereaved families.

A 24-hour curfew in the southern winter capital Jammu was eased following riots there on Thursday night when Sikh and Hindu youths targeted Muslims in revenge attacks.

No one has claimed responsibility for Monday's killings, the first major violence against Sikhs in Kashmir since the Muslim insurgency began in 1989, but India has blamed Pakistan-backed separatists.

Reinforced police patrols were deployed overnight in the northern town of Baramulla, 50 kilometers north of Srinagar, to prevent Sikh-Muslim clashes, police said.

Tension erupted in the border town overnight when Muslims were pelted with stones and assaulted, leaving two children injured.

Police were called out to disperse crowds of Muslim youths who poured on to the streets later Thursday to shout slogans condemning the state government.

Muslim and Sikh clerics appealed for communal harmony from mosques and temples in Baramulla.

Separatist political groups and Sikh organisations issued separate statements calling for tolerance and religious amity.

A delegation of India's main opposition, Congress on Thursday echoed protesters and demanded the dismisal of State Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah for "failing to protect the lives of common Kashmiris."

"Everyone in Kashmir is feeling insecure owing to the rise in violence," said former minister and senior Congress leader Balram Jakkhar.

The delegation visited Chatisinghpora on Thursday and said Congress would submit a memorandum to Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee regarding deteriorating law and order in Kashmir.

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