NEW DELHI: As many as 111 people were killed in 822 incidents of communal violence in the country in 2017, Union Minister Hansraj Gangaram Ahir said on Wednesday.

He told the Rajya Sabha that 86 people were killed in 703 incidents of communal violence in 2016 and 97 people lost their lives in 751 such incidents in 2015.

The responsibility of maintaining law and order, peace and communal harmony, and actions against culprits rest primarily with the state governments and Union Territories, the Minister of State for Home said in a written reply.

In order to maintain communal harmony in the country, the Centre assists state governments in a variety of ways like sharing of intelligence, sending alert messages and advisories from time to time on important developments, he said.

