WENG'AN, China - An investigation into the death of a teenage girl will be reopened after accusations of a police cover-up led to rioting in this southwest China town, a state news agency reported Tuesday.



The widespread protests in Weng'an, a town in hilly Guizhou province, stemmed from an official report on the death of a high school student and allegations that a suspect in the case was related to a local official, residents said.

Residents believe Li Shufen — whose body was pulled from a river June 22 — was raped and murdered. An initial police report found that the girl drowned, causing 30,000 people to swarm to the streets in anger Saturday, the official Xinhua News Agency said.

Xinhua had quoted vice county chief Xiao Song as saying a preliminary investigation found no links between children of local officials and the girl.

But Xinhua reported Tuesday that the investigation would be reopened.

"The provincial government has sent 10 criminal investigators and forensic experts to reinvestigate the death," it said.

The Hong Kong-based Information Center for Human Rights and Democracy said that in the original investigation, officials questioned three young men but let them go.

The unrest is especially sensitive for China ahead of the Beijing Olympics in August and officials have repeatedly stressed the need to keep order. President Hu Jintao and top security officials have issued important instructions for the case, according to the Guizhou Daily.

Xinhua also ran a commentary about the unrest headlined, "How difficult is it for the people to be given the truth?" The article said more information should be released.

"Originally this was a simple murder case, and for the local law enforcement agencies giving people a satisfactory answer and giving people the truth should not be hard," it said.

In the unrest, the local police building was set on fire and its windows were broken. By Tuesday, burned out cars had been removed from the front of the building, and parts of town were returning to normal, with residents shopping and walking around.

Provincial Communist Party Secretary Shi Zongyuan visited the area to stress "the importance of social stability," Xinhua said.

"We must put maintaining social harmony and stability on the top of our agenda," Shi was quoted as saying.

The provincial public security bureau said Tuesday that its chief was at a meeting and did not comment. The Weng'an Public Security Bureau lines rang busy.

Riots and protests by local citizens over official corruption, land confiscation and a growing gap between the rich and poor have been an increasing problem for China's communist leaders in recent years.