Death toll rises to 16 in caste riots in India

JAIPUR, India - The death toll from rioting by members of one of India's lowest castes jumped to 16 Saturday after they protested a government ruling on their caste status
The deaths occurred across six villages in western India hit by violence on Friday, said Rohit Kumar Singh, the Rajasthan state information commissioner.
Police fired live ammunition and tear gas after Gujjars _ who occupy one of the lowest rungs on India's complex social ladder _ beat a policeman to death and set several police vans and a railway track on fire Friday in Bharatpur district, said K.L. Berwa, a senior Rajasthan police officer.
The Gujjars are demanding to be reclassified to a lower social level so they can qualify for government jobs and university places reserved for such groups.
The troubled area is 95 miles (150 kilometers) east of Rajasthan state's capital Jaipur _ the scene of Gujjar riots nearly a year ago that left 26 people dead.
With thousands of army, police and paramilitary forces patrolling the affected villages, no fresh violence was reported Saturday.
Traffic between Jaipur and Agra, where the famous Taj Mahal monument is located, has been severely disrupted by protesters blocking the highway, affecting thousands of travelers. Authorities stopped nearly 400 tourist buses and diverted trains to Mumbai, India's financial and entertainment capital, via another route, Singh told The Associated Press on Saturday.
The protesters uprooted a one-mile (1.5-kilometer) stretch of rail track Friday, Singh said. Nearly a dozen trains were canceled.
Gujjars took to the streets after a government panel set up to look into their demands recommended a US$70 million (Ð45 million) aid package for their community, but ruled out caste reclassification.
Gujjars are considered part of the second-lowest group, known as Other Backward Classes, a step up from the Scheduled Tribes and Castes.
The Hindu caste system was outlawed soon after independence from Britain in 1947, but its influence remains powerful.