India appeals for calm in Singapore

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India has appealed for calm in Singapore where the death of a 33-year-old Indian construction worker in a road mishap sparked the worst riots in the South East Asian nation in the last 44 years.

"The Singapore authorities have confirmed the identity of the Indian national who died in an accident in Little India on Sunday. The High Commission has informed the family members," the Indian High Commission in Singapore said in a statement issued to the media Monday.

The deceased Indian national has been identified as Sakthivel Kuravelu who hailed from the southern state of Tamil Nadu. He was hit by a speeding bus, driven by a Singaporean, at a junction in Little India Sunday, following which over 400 South Asians clashed with the police and vandalised buses.

The police have arrested some 27 South Asians, including 24 Indians, for rioting on the streets as Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong announced a panel to probe into the incident.