Arrests over Koran burning

Security is tighter at the mosque in Amritsar

Police in the north Indian state of Punjab have arrested four people after copies if the Koran were burnt near a mosque.

A right-wing Hindu organisation, the All India Hindu Security Committee, has been blamed for burning the Muslim holy book.

Tension is high around the 200-year-old Kheruddin mosque in the city of Amritsar and armed police have been posted outside the complex.

Activists of the group were also said to have thrown pork outside the mosque in what the police described as a deliberate attempt to offend Muslims.

Inspector General of Police, AP Pandey, said an investigation was under way.

"I am extremely distressed and seriously concerned over the reports," Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee was quoted as saying by the Press Trust of India.

Riots

The state authorities say the All India Hindu Security Committee was formed about four months ago.

It has since campaigned against the destruction of statues of the Buddha and other non-Islamic religious artefacts by the Taleban authorities in Afghanistan.

At least 15 people were killed last week in clashes between police and Muslims in the north Indian city of Kanpur.

The Muslims - who were mainly activists from a group called the Student Islamic Movement of India - were protesting against the alleged burning of a copy of the Koran by Hindu radicals in the Indian capital, Delhi.