Taj Mahal briefly closed after Agra riots

People set a truck on fire during a protest in Agra August 29, 2007. Police briefly closed the Taj Mahal and placed parts of Agra city under curfew on Wednesday after Muslims burned trucks and battled police to protest against the deaths of four community members hit by a lorry.

LUCKNOW, India (Reuters) - Police briefly closed the Taj Mahal and placed parts of Agra city under curfew on Wednesday after Muslims burned trucks and battled police to protest against the deaths of four community members hit by a lorry.

One person was killed by a stray police bullet and nine seriously injured in rioting triggered by the deaths of four men hit by a lorry while returning from "Shab-e-Barat", or the "night of forgiveness or atonement", when Muslims pray for the dead.

Angry crowds set fire to at least 20 vehicles, mainly trucks, officials said. One shoe factory was burnt in the rioting.

Television footage showed smoke billowing over one neighbourhood, young Muslims throwing bottles and stones and a line of trucks burning.

"They are hurling bricks at police sent to stop the violence in one area but the situation is coming under control as our people are on the job," state police officer Brij Lal said.

After shutting the Taj Mahal to tourists on Wednesday, it was later reopened under heavy security, according to officials.

Schools and colleges were ordered shut in the crowded city as police tried to quell the violence.

People being killed by buses and trucks is common in India. Mobs often react angrily to such accidents, especially if the victims are part of a religious procession.

Earlier this month, Hindu pilgrims went on a rampage near the Indian capital, setting buses on fire and blocking a key highway, after two of them were run over by a truck.

In Agra, local member of parliament Raj Babbar blamed corrupt policemen for allowing trucks to move along roads that Muslim worshippers were using in large numbers.

India's Muslims constitute more than 13 percent of the mainly Hindu India's 1.1 billion population. Though Muslims and Hindus largely live in peace, riots sometimes erupt between the two groups, killing scores of people.

The Taj Mahal was built by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in Agra as a mausoleum for his wife Mumtaz Mahal. Attracting around 20,000 visitors every day, the monument was completed in 1648.