Paramilitary personnel at Muzaffarnagar, where four people were killed in two incidents of violence on Wednesday
Uttar Pradesh's Samajwadi Party government faces a fresh challenge after four people were killed in fresh violence in Muzaffarnagar, where communal clashes last month had left nearly 50 dead and 45,000 homeless.
Eight people have been arrested after the violence, which took place on Wednesday, between two communities at village Hussainpur.
Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav said the state government was doing its best to ensure peace after last month's clashes.
"We know how to crush those who spread tension. We are trying to be tough and also trying to talk to everyone to ensure harmony among neighbors. But whether it's by Hindus or Muslims, we won't allow any atrocity," Mr Yadav told NDTV.
Police and district officials have refused to link the latest killings to lingering tension in the riot-scarred district.
However, around 200 armed guards and riot control personnel are patrolling the area along with 500 policemen, to prevent the violence from spreading.
Three men were killed in clashes on Wednesday between Hussainpur and its neighbouring village Mohammedpur, two kilometres away.
The men had allegedly attacked an ex-army man from Mohammedpur, Rajinder Singh, at his field between the two villages. Singh later got more villagers, who allegedly beat up and killed the three attackers. Singh is among the eight men who were arrested from Mohammedpur. 15 more accused are missing.
A top Muzaffarnagar police officer admitted to failure of the police. "If the police hadn't failed, such elements wouldn't have been emboldened. All policemen found negligent will be taken to task," said Devraj Nagar, the Director General of Police, Muzaffarnagar.
In a separate incident, also near Hussainpur village, a woman was killed when she and her husband were attacked on their way home from a visit to the doctor.
Muzaffarnagar is still trying to recover from the violence which erupted in September, after the killing of three men in August - two Jat brothers and one Muslim boy. Three BJP MLAs and one BSP legislator were arrested and half a dozen others were booked for inciting the violence, which is being investigated by a one-member judicial commission.