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Three Muslims Burned to Death in Clashes in Northern India

Hundreds of police have been deployed to contain the unrest, reported to have been sparked by the murder of a 19-year-old Hindu man who was in love with a Muslim woman.
Image via AP

At least fourteen people have been arrested after three Muslims were burned to death in their homes in the northern Indian state of Bihar, in the latest outbreak of communal violence to hit the majority Hindu country.

Hundreds of police have been deployed to contain the unrest, which came after the body of a Hindu man was discovered in the village of Ajitpur, believed to be 19-year-old Bhartendu Kumar. The man had disappeared at least a week previously.

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Additional Director General of Police Gupteshwar Pandey told BBC Hindi that the man had been in love with a Muslim girl, which was suspected to be the motivation for the killing. "He was abducted and murdered," Pandey said.

"A mob gathered after the body was found and set fire to at least two dozen thatched huts and at least three people were killed."

He added: "The situation is tense but under control."

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Other reports said that at least 36 houses were destroyed.

An investigation has been launched and the relatives of those killed are expected to receive state compensation. Bihar chief minister Jitan Ram Manjhi has also cut short a trip to Mumbai, and is reportedly returning to the state to deal with the crisis.

Hindus make up more than 80 percent of India's population with 827 million identifying themselves as followers of the religion. Islam is the second most-popular religion, with them number of Muslims totaling 138 million, or less than 14 percent.

There have been occasional incidents of religiously motivated violence in the country, which has a population of 1.2 billion.

Nearly 50 people died in Hindu-Muslim clashes in Muzaffarnagar,  in the neighboring state of Uttar Pradesh, in September 2013.

One of the most deadly episodes in recent memory was the Gujarat riots of 2002. Then, at least 790 Muslims and 254 Hindus were killed in the western state during unrest prompted by a fire on a train at Godhra, in which 59 Hindu pilgrims died. Some accused a "mob of Muslims" of starting the fire deliberately, though a government report later concluded it was an accident.

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Follow Sally Hayden on Twitter: @sallyhayd