4 Killed in Clashes in Northeastern India

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/20/world/asia/4-killed-in-clashes-in-northeastern-india.html

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NEW DELHI — At least four people died in northeastern India over the weekend in an outbreak of religious violence that was set off by rumors of an interfaith love affair.

The clashes took place Sunday, after a Hindu man was found dead in a village in the state of Bihar; he was reportedly killed for striking up a romantic relationship with a Muslim woman. After the man’s body was discovered, a crowd attacked a Muslim neighborhood, burning down 78 houses, said Atul Prasad, a senior civil servant in the Tirhut area of Bihar State.

Two Muslims were “charred to death,” and two more suffered fatal injuries in the violence, Mr. Prasad said. The police sent reinforcements to keep the violence from spreading, and officials said calm had been restored in the area.

The state government has promised compensation to families whose houses were burned, Mr. Prasad said, and has opened a relief camp for them.