NEW DELHI Hundreds of Muslims in India's quake-hit Gujarat State have smashed and burned their television sets to ward off evil spirits and prevent a new temblor, the **** Indian Express **** reported Monday.

The paper said Muslim priests in the region blamed the televisions for spreading obscenity and attracting God's wrath in the form of the huge January 26 quake, which left at least 30,000 dead.

During prayer meetings they urged believers to destroy their sets at the earliest opportunity.

"They have not acted according to my instructions, they have acted only according to what Islam teaches. And this will happen across the country and abroad," a Muslim religious leader said.

The report showed a picture of a mob in the town of Mariapur smashing up a pile of televisions, and it said broken televisions now littered street corners, according to AFP.

The report said the numbers of people in Gujarat visiting mosques, temples and churches in the region had soared since the quake.