Five people were burnt to death in renewed violence in Gujarat, barely a day before Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee was due to visit the riot-torn state, a police spokesman said Wednesday. The dead included two women, the spokesman added.

The attack took place late Tuesday, when a mob torched three houses in Abasna village on the outskirts of Ahmedabad.

The charred bodies were found early Wednesday morning after firefighters put out the blaze, the police spokesman said. Four others, including two women, were admitted to hospital with serious burn injuries, he added.

Rioting was also reported on Tuesday night in several parts of Ahmedabad city, he said, adding that police fired tear-gas shells to disperse the mobs. Ten people, including three policemen, were injured in the violence, he said.

More than 800 people have been killed in the sectarian riots that erupted after a Muslim mob attacked a train carrying VHP activists in the town of Godhra on February 27, killing 58 people. Vajpayee is due on Thursday to tour some of the areas worst hit by the violence.

Bureau Report