India outrage over mock 'Muslim' terror drills

Police initially said the "militants" had worn skullcaps "to give them a different look". Photo-AFP

There has been outrage in India after police in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's home state of Gujarat conducted mock security drills featuring Muslims as "militants".

A video of a drill in Surat district showed police taming men wearing long tunics and white skullcaps.

Another video shot in the Narmada district had "militants" shouting "Islam Zindabad (Long live Islam)".

Muslim leaders have called the videos "atrocious and highly condemnable".

Critics say the videos stereotype Muslims, who make up nearly 14 percent of the country's 1.2 billion population.

After the videos were shown on Indian TV channels, Gujarat Chief Minister Anandiben Patel admitted that the exercise was "a mistake".

"It's wrong to link religion with terrorism. The issue has been resolved and the matter should be put to rest now. The mistake has been rectified," the chief minister said.

Police initially tried to brush off the criticism, saying the skullcaps were used "to give them a different look", but they later apologised saying it was an "avoidable situation".

"This was a mistake and should not have happened," AFP quoted Surat police chief Pradeep Sejul as saying.

Police officials in Narmada said they would investigate the incident.