AMRITSAR, India -- Sikh terrorists opened fire on a brick factory and a barber shop Saturday, killing at least 12 people and wounding eight others in the second attack on Hindus in two days of religious violence, officials said.
Earlier Saturday, rock-throwing Hindus, enraged by a Sikh shooting spree Friday that left 14 people dead in northern Punjab state, battled with police and Sikh militants, burning shops and vehicles across two states.
The violence capped the most bloody week in the strife-torn state in months. Moderate Sikh Chief Minister Subjit Singh Barnala, National Security Minister Arun Nehru and former Punjab Gov. Arjun Singh went to New Delhi for urgent consultations with Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi.
Police reports said the latest Sikh attack came about 7:30 p.m. in the villages of Malian Khurd, Khanpur and Malian Kalan, near the curfew-bound town of Nakodar about 50 miles southeast of Amritsar.
Five Sikh terrorists riding in an olive-green jeep opened fire with submachine guns and automatic rifles on laborers at a brick kiln, one of the countless simple clay structures that dot the Indian countryside and produce bricks for rural road construction and buildings.
The gunmen also shot at people along a road and in a nearby barber shop, grocery and bicycle store, officials said.
At least 12 people were killed and eight others were wounded, officials said.
The officials said the jeep matched the description of a vehicle used by Sikh terrorists in an attack in the Punjab town of Kapurthala on March 6 that claimed seven lives and left 12 people injured.
Some 5,000 additional paramilitary troops were rushed to Punjab to reinforce a force of about 20,000 troops already deployed. Police in Punjab and Haryana states were given permission to fire their weapons at will to quell marauding Hindus who lashed out at Sikhs, seeking revenge for the 14 Hindus killed in Ludhiana, 80 miles southeast of Amritsar.
More than 31 people have been injured and scores of others arrested since Friday when the religious fighting broke out.
Stores closed in Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh states when a general strike was called to protest shootings by Sikhs, who are demanding independence for Punjab, one of the few states where Sikhs outnumber Hindus.
Sikh militant leader Satwinder Singh, accused of murder and arson, said in an interview with United Press International that the Friday attack was a 'bullets for bullets' reply to Punjab's moderate Sikh government for the 'killing of innocents.'
The Sikh leader, in an interview from the Sikh's Golden Temple holy shrine, warned of more deaths if Indian army units were put on active duty. The army has been placed on alert.
Two towns hit by the violent Hindu backlash were placed under curfew Saturday, bringing to 10 the number of towns under such restrictions.
The worst unrest Saturday erupted in Pathanjot, 60 miles north of Amritsar, where police fired on activists of the right-wing Hindu organization Shiv Sena who were attempting to set fire to the railway terminal.
The 700 protesters threw rocks at police, a police station and a cinema, prompting officers to open fire. Officials said at least 24 people were injured during the protests and an unspecified number were arrested.
A curfew was also clamped on Hoshiarpur, 60 miles west of Amritsar. Violence there left at least four people were injured, officials said.
Police in Ludhiana fired teargas to disperse dozens of women and youths protesting at the park where Friday's attack began. There were some injuries, but the number was not immediately known.
In Amritsar, Shiv Sena activists clashed with Sikh militants. Some vehicles were set afire and police fired warning shots to end the melee, officials said. At least three people were injured.
The death toll in the Ludhiana attack rose to 14 Saturday with the death of a fourth member of a right-wing Hindu political party, the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh. The victim was wounded when Sikh terrorists wearing police uniforms sprayed machine-gun fire from a motorcycle and a scooter, officials said.
The Friday attack was the deadliest by Sikh extremists since May 1985 when 44 people were killed and scores were injured in two days of bOmbings.
