AHMADABAD, India - Hindus and Muslims clashed during a popular Hindu festival Tuesday in India's tense Gujarat state, the site of deadly riots in the past. Police said 38 people were hurt.

The violence began when hundreds of Hindus marched through Muslim-dominated areas in three towns across Gujarat at the end of weeklong festivities celebrating the elephant-headed god Ganesh.

Riots broke out in the towns of Rameshwar and Bala Sinorsoon, and mobs attacked police. Police reportedly fired on the crowds.

Rameshwar is located near Godhra, where Muslims torched a train car and killed some 60 Hindu pilgrims last year. That sparked riots across Gujarat that killed about 1,000 people, mostly Muslims.

Nine people, including two police officers, were injured in Rameshwar. In Bala Sinor, six others suffered injuries, police said, and rioting continued in some areas.

Religious fault lines run deep in Gujarat between Hindus, the majority in India, and Muslims, the largest minority. Several clashes have taken place over the past weeks.

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