India ( A 2 yr old video was played of a lynching of two youths and a Riot broke out ) 28 killed

NEW DELHI – A video broadcast on the Internet sparked sectarian strife over the weekend that cost 28 people their lives in the northern Indian district of Muzaffarnagar, authorities said Monday.

Officials said early Monday morning that 21 people had died, but Arun Kumar, deputy police chief of Uttar Pradesh state, upped the death toll at noon to 28.

Kumar also raised to 90 the number of detentions made by police in the area, where a curfew has been imposed for the last two days and military units have been on patrol to maintain calm in the streets.

Tensions have been high in Muzaffarnagar since the Aug. 27 murder of two young Hindu men.

The weekend’s violence was set off by a video purporting to show the lynching of the two youths, the state’s interior minister, Kamal Saxena, said, adding that the video, which has been taken off the Web, was made two years ago and was not filmed in Uttar Pradesh.

The broadcast of the video was what sparked the clashes Saturday between Hindu and Muslim communities, during which a mosque was attacked and guns and machetes were used.

Among those detained by police for inciting hatred were some regional politicians, media outlets said. EFE