Indian PM Modi Says Won't Tolerate Violence in Name of Faith

(Bloomberg) -- India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi warned countrymen against taking the law into their own hands in the name of religion, political ideology, faith of a person or culture.

Modi spoke in the wake of large-scale rioting and arson in parts of northern India on Friday as thousands of followers protested a court ruling that convicted religious leader Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh of rape.

“I can assure that neither this nation nor this government will tolerate those that violate law and walk the path of violence,” Modi said in his monthly address to the nation on Sunday. “Law will hold accountable and punish the perpetrators.”

About 31 people were reported killed in the northern Indian state of Haryana as rampaging protesters clashed with security personnel.

To contact the reporter on this story: Rajesh Kumar Singh in New Delhi at rsingh133@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Stanley James at sjames8@bloomberg.net, Chan Tien Hin, John McCluskey