AP
Members of Hindu nationalist group Shiv Sena shout anti-Muslim slogans in New Delhi

At least 58 Muslims are dead in Western India, in Hindu-Muslim rioting triggered by Wednesday's deadly Muslim attack on a train carrying Hindu nationalists and their families.

Thirty-eight of the Muslim victims died in their homes in the capital of Gujarat state, Ahmedabad, when Hindu rioters incinerated a group of bungalows. Police said at least 12 of the dead were children. Police told the Associated Press it took more than six hours for firefighters to reach the burning homes because of roadblocks set up by roving bands of Hindu youths. Earlier Thursday, 20 others were reported killed in the state capital, prompting the deployment of Indian troops to the embattled city.

The spiraling violence comes one day after 58 people identified as Hindu activists and their children - were killed in a train fire set by a Muslim mob. Wednesday's train fire occurred in the town of Godhra, about 150-kilometers from Ahmedabad.

The activists and their families were returning from a rally in the northern town of Ayodhya, where Hindu nationalists want to build a temple on the ruins of a mosque destroyed by Hindu fanatics in 1992. The activists claim the mosque was built by Muslims after razing a Hindu temple nearly four centuries ago.

AP
Rescue workers remove body of Hindu activist from burned-out rail car in Godhra, India

Authorities have placed many towns in the region under strict curfew as militant Hindus call for a nationwide strike Friday to protest the train fire deaths.

Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee had urged Hindus not to retaliate for the train attack saying "Indian brotherhood must be protected at all cost". He is also urging Hindu groups not to press ahead with their demand for the construction of a temple at the disputed site in Ayodhya. Despite Mr. Vajpayee's plea, the main Hindu group spearheading the temple drive, Vishwa Hindu Parishad or World Hindu Council, has vowed to begin construction on March 15, defying a court order that bans any construction at the site.

Some information for this report provided by AP and AFP.

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