2003 Photo Contest, General News, 3rd prize
Photographer

Ami Vitale

Getty Images

02 March, 2002

An elderly Muslim woman's body whose throat was slashed and then set on fire lies outside of her home in Ahmedabad, India. Her home sat next door to a local police station but she and an untold number of others were brutally killed by angry mobs on a spree of vengeance. In February, the city had been the scene of some of the worst communal violence in India for a decade. In retaliation for an earlier Muslim attack on a train carrying mainly Hindu pilgrims, which left 58 dead, people rampaged through city streets setting fire to Muslim homes and businesses. Violence continued into May. Thousands fled their homes, and the official death toll was over 900, though estimates by human rights groups placed the figure much higher.

About the photographer

Ami Vitale

Ami Vitale is a photographer, writer and filmmaker currently based in Montana. She is an Ambassador for Nikon and a contract photographer with National Geographic magazine. ...

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