3 Muslims burnt to death alive in communal clash in India

PATNA, Jan 19 (agencies): At least three Muslim villagers were burnt to death Sunday when their thatched huts were set on fire during a clash between Hindu and Muslim groups in eastern India, a government official said.
 Atul Prasad, a Bihar state administrator, said the violence erupted after the body of a young Hindu boy was found in Sarayian village more than a week after he went missing.
 Prasad said Hindu fishermen blamed Muslims for killing the boy who was friendly with a Muslim girl from the village, 105 kilometers (65 miles) north of Patna, the capital of Bihar state.
 The charred bodies of three Muslims were found in the burned huts in the poor community, he said.
 Police arrested eight Hindu men, and Prasad said the situation remains tense but under control in the village.
 Hindus make up more than 80 percent and Muslims nearly 13 percent of India's 1.2 billion people. They largely live peacefully in various parts of the country, but there is occasional violence.
Meanwhile:  Police have arrested nine people after a mob torched a house and burnt to death three men thought to be Muslims in an outbreak of communal violence in northern India, an official said Monday.
Police in riot gear were patrolling a village where Sunday's hours-long rampage and attack occurred in Bihar state, with tensions still high between the majority Hindu and minority Muslim communities.
The attack was triggered by the discovery of the body of a teenage Hindu boy, allegedly murdered by family members of a Muslim girl who objected to the pair's suspected relationship.
"We have identified the attackers and nine accused have been arrested," said Paras Nath, inspector general of police in Muzaffarpur district.
"The hunt is on for others. Three persons were burnt alive," Nath told AFP.
"One accused in the murder of the teenage boy has also been arrested," he added.