PATNA: At least four Muslim villagers were killed, three of them burned to death, when their thatched huts were set on fire during a clash between Hindu and Muslim groups in eastern India, a government official said.

Police had arrested 14 people Monday on charges of arson and murder, said Ranjit K. Mishra, a local superintendent of police.

Security has been tightened in and around Sarayian village in Bihar state with some 500 police officers assigned to the area.

Atul Prasad, a Bihar state administrator, said the violence erupted Sunday after the body of a young Hindu boy was found in Sarayian 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 north of Patna, the capital of Bihar.

The charred bodies of three Muslims were found in the burned huts in the poor community, he said.

The bullet-riddled body of a fourth man was found in a field in the village, said Mishra.

Prasad said the situation remains tense but under control in the village.

Hindus make up more than 80 per cent and Muslims nearly 13 per cent of India's 1.2 billion people. They largely live peacefully in various parts of the country, but there is occasional violence.

Last year, around 50 people died in clashes between Hindus and Muslim in Muzaffarnagar town in neighbouring Uttar Pradesh state.