Two persons were killed when two communities traded gunfire in Purabi Sarai in Munger district, Bihar, on Thursday.
The violence erupted following the murder of a railway employee on Wednesday night.
"We have taken all precautionary steps to ease the tension and maintain law and order," Bihar Director General of Police R R Prasad told rediff.com
Over 200 rounds were fired from both the sides, sources said.
In the absence of Bihar Chief Minister Rabri Devi, who was in New Delhi for a meeting, her husband and ruling Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Laloo Prasad Yadav was monitoring the situation.
He held a meeting with the state home secretary and the DGP at the chief minister's 1 Anne Marg residence.