Rumors Lead People from Northeast to Flee Bangalore

By HARI KUMAR

Wild rumors of pending attacks led several thousand people to flee Bangalore on Wednesday night because of fears that violence in India's northeastern region would somehow spread south.

Those fleeing were primarily from the state of Assam, where rioting between tribal and Muslim communities has led to more than 75 deaths, the complete destruction of many villages and the displacement of hundreds of thousands. Panicked students, workers and families thronged Bangalore's main railway station and took every spot available on trains headed toward Assam.

Two special trains were arranged to handle the demand, but they were not enough to clear the station of all those seeking to leave. Television news programs showed video footage of a sea of passengers pushing their way onto trains and dumping their luggage through windows.

R. Ashoka, the deputy chief minister and home minister of Karnataka St ate, went to the railway station and tried to assure those present that the rumors were false and that they would be protected. “Up until now, no incident has happened. All are rumors. Bangalore is safe. Karnataka is safe,” Mr. Ashoka said. “I assure the students of Assam and the northeast full safety and security.”

Normally, 300 to 400 passengers board trains to the northeast on a daily basis from Bangalore. “Yesterday, 6,832 unreserved tickets to Guwahati were sold,” A. K. Agarwal, the deputy regional railway manager in Bangalore, was quoted as saying in media reports.

The Assam violence and the media coverage it has engendered have rippled throughout India's vast Muslim community. Representatives of the Hindu-centric Bharatiya Janata Party have blamed illegal immigrants from Bangladesh for the violence, although there is little evidence that such immigration has played any role.

A Muslim group in Mumbai held a protest last week that soon beca me violent, leading to at least two deaths, scores of injuries and severe property damage. Other minor incidents broke out in Pune, Maharashtra, and Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh.

A group of students from the northeast was invited to visit Jagadish Shivappa Shettar, Karnataka's chief minister, on Thursday morning to get still more reassurances. “We are with you,” he said. “There is nothing to worry about. Don't believe in rumors.”