NEW DELHI, India (CNN) -- Three weeks after an apparent misunderstanding sparked a confrontation, deadly Hindu-Christian riots continue unabated in the remote east Indian state of Orissa. Police officers chase away a protester in Mangalore, India, Monday. By Tuesday, about 20 deaths had been reported, said Praveen Kumar, the superintendent of police in the worst-affected Kandhamal district. The latest casualty is a police officer who died after an armed mob of about 400 to 500 mostly Hindus torched a police station in the district on Monday, Orissa state police said. Orissa's Director General of Police G.C. Nanda the policeman died when the mob opened fire at officers fleeing the burning building.
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Orissa state has historically been a tinderbox of Hindu-Christian tensions
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Violence spread to southern India with churches attacked in Karnataka state
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Latest casualty was a policeman who died after a Hindu mob torched a police station
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Attack came 2 days after police fired on a crowd to prevent it attacking Christians
Unlike @placeholder, Karnataka has until now been spared the large-scale clash between Christians and Hindus.