Riot police opened fire on some 500 villagers who ransacked a railway station and threw stones at relief officials in Lohna village in Bihar's flood-hit Darbhanga district, said A.N Jha, spokesman of the Railway Protection Force.

There were conflicting reports on the toll.

Jha said four villagers and a relief official died and that over 24 villagers were injured in the stampede for supplies and police firing.

But local police chief Sunil Kumar said only two people had died in the melee.

Kumar said state officials were distributing food and other items to flood victims at the Lohna railroad station when they were attacked.

Villagers have repeatedly vented their anger in recent weeks by looting and attacking government offices in flood-affected areas of Bihar, which is India's poorest state.

At least 1,055 people have died in India's annual floods with thousands of people still suffering as the waters recede.

TERRA.WIRE