Violence during Hindu festival in eastern India leaves one dead

Following violence during a Hindu religious festival, riot police have been deployed and mobile internet services cut in parts of Bihar state. The move comes after at least one person was shot dead in Bihar Sharif town during a procession to mark Ram Navami. Mobs also set fire to homes and shops during the festival, with reports that a prominent Muslim school was torched. Ram Navami is known for large processions by people brandishing swords, sticks, tridents and guns. In recent years, rallies have provocatively marched through Muslim neighbourhoods with religious music pulsating through powerful sound systems. Similar communal flare-ups were reported in two other cities in Bihar, where authorities shut mobile internet services in some areas and clamped down on public movement. Sectarian violence also hit at least seven other Indian states following the festival, with dozens injured and hundreds arrested in at least 13 towns and cities.