Protests over power leave four dead in Bihar

PATNA, India (Reuters) - At least four people were killed and dozens injured in overnight clashes between police and villagers protesting poor power supply in Bihar, one of India's poorest and most lawless states, police said on Saturday.

Tensions over long periods of power outage in the Kahalgoan area boiled over on Friday when protesters turned violent, prompting police to use batons and open fire.

It was not immediately clear if the victims died from baton injuries or in police firing.

Violence continued on Saturday with protesters setting fire to two hospitals and some vehicles.

"The situation is very tense and we are trying our best to bring things under control," Jitendra Singh Gangwar, a state police officer, said.

Bihar, notorious as India's "wild west", is a byword for poverty, chaos and despair.

At night, large tracts of the capital Patna are powerless and pitch black. In villages, barely accessible by crumbling or non-existent roads, there is power only two or three hours a day.