Hyderabad tense after bike clash

People ride motorcycles without helmets all over India

Tension is high in the Indian city of Hyderabad as a second person allegedly assaulted by police for not wearing a motorcycle helmet died on Wednesday.

One youth was killed instantly and the other was injured when a traffic constable allegedly hit them with a stick over the week-end.

The incident triggered violence in the city on Monday, with the police accused of being heavy-handed.

Last month a motorbike rider lost his eye when allegedly hit by police.

He too was not wearing a helmet.

Doctors said that 25-year-old Mohammed Mohsin succumbed to head injuries on Wednesday morning, four days after the most recent incident.

Major uproar

The driver of the motorcycle, a 27-year-old, died immediately from head injuries when a traffic constable allegedly threw a stick at them because they were violating the "helmet compulsory" rule.

Eyewitnesses said that the stick hit the driver who lost control and crashed.

The incident created a major uproar in the city, with mobs on Monday throwing stones at police and passing vehicles. Seven people were injured.

In a move to calm protesters, the state government announced a payment of 200,000 Rupees ($4,371) to the families of both the victims, and a job to one member of the two families.

The BBC's Omer Farooq in Hyderabad says that as the news of the latest death spread, security was tightened in the old part of the city.

Additional police and the anti-riot force have been deployed.

The state's human rights commissioner has now issued a legal notice to the police demanding they explain their actions.