Chinese protest police taking body of dead youth: report

Beijing: A Hong Kong-based rights group says residents of a city in central China have gathered outside a hotel to prevent police from taking the body of a young man after he died under mysterious circumstances.

The Hong Kong-based Information Centre for Human Rights and Democracy says around 200 people were injured in the confrontation. Residents say hundreds of people are still outside the hotel, angered by the death of 24-year old Tu Yuangao.

A report on the state-owned People's Daily website on Saturday said Tu was found dead on Wednesday evening in front of the Yonglong hotel in Shishou city in Hubei province, but police ruled out murder, saying they found a suicide note.

Police have asked relatives for the body, so an autopsy can be performed to determine the cause of the death. But the family has refused.