BEIJING - Residents clashed with police Saturday in central China following the mysterious death of a young man at a city hotel, leaving more than 200 injured, a Hong Kong-based rights group said.
Residents said hundreds of people were still massed outside the hotel in Shishou city, angered by the death of 24-year old Tu Yuangao, and his body was still inside.
A local resident who gave his last name as Wu said he saw about 20 to 30 trucks carrying armed police entering the city in Hubei province Saturday afternoon.
A report on the state-owned People's Daily Web site Saturday said Tu was found dead on Wednesday evening in front of the Yonglong hotel, but police ruled out murder saying they found a suicide note.
Police have asked the relatives to give them the body so they can perform an autopsy to find the cause of the death, but they have refused, the report said.
The man's relatives believe he was killed by the boss of the hotel, who is related to the mayor of the city, the Hong Kong-based Information Center for Human Rights and Democracy said, and are keeping the body in protest.
Over 200 people were injured in the confrontation with police, the rights group said.
A man who answered the phone at the Shishou government confirmed there was an incident with police, but refused to give further details or provide his name.
Discontent with local officials and police often leads to mass protests in China. Last year more than 30,000 people rioted in a town in hilly Guizhou province over what they believed was a coverup of a teenage girl's death.
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