NEW DELHI, India -- Sikh extremists armed with guns and swords attacked Hindu shopkeepers in the northwest state of Punjab Tuesday, injuring eight people days after 2,000 troops were deployed to stop separatist violence.
In a separate incident, a bomb exploded in a wealthy residential area on the outskirts of Chandigarh, capital of Punjab, seriously injuring an unidentified boy, police said.
Police could not immediately determine who planted the bomb in the city 150 miles north of New Delhi.
Prime Minister Indira Gandhi deployed 2,000 troops and placed the northern city under federal control Friday to quell escalating violence by Sikhs demanding autonomy for the grain-rich state.
Police said six to 10 turbaned members of the Sikh religion armed with guns and swords began randomly shooting and stabbing Hindu shopkeepers in Amritsar, 250 miles northwest of New Delhi, where the most sacred Sikh temple is located.
After the attack, the Sikhs fled and eight injured shopkeepers were hospitalized, police said.
Last Wednesday, Sikhs killed six Hindu bus passengers just south of Amritsar, and also opened fire aboard a train, killing a tax collector and a Sikh policman the same day.
Government officials fear the attacks by Sikh extremists will provoke reprisals by Hindus against India's 12 million Sikhs.
Sikh leaders have denounced the attacks and warned their followers to remain peaceful.
The increasing violence in the northwest state bordering Pakistan has polarized the Punjab's 52 percent Sikh community and the 48 percent Hindu minority.
The popular autonomy demands by Sikhs and the violent extremist fringe is one of Mrs. Gandhi's biggest political problems.
The autonomy demand is backed by many wealthy Sikh businessmen, landowners and industrialists, along with shopkeepers, students, and laborers.
