Authorities in the eastern Indian state of Bihar say at least 17 members of a gang have been poisoned to death by members of a rival group.

The incident took place on Monday night in Khagaria district.

A senior government official, U N Panjiar, told the BBC that members of the gang invited the other group for dinner where they were served with poisonous food.

Mr Panjiar said the bodies were thrown into a nearby river.

Inter-gang rivalry is quite common in Bihar which is one of the most lawless states in the country.

The state has also been hit by floods which have caused six deaths and left around a million people homeless since the beginning of August.

Associated Press news agency reports that two more people were killed and five injured on Monday when police opened fire on a mob that had set fire to their station in a dispute over relief supplies.

While 15 north Bihar districts have been flooded, the majority of the central Bihar districts are in the grip of a drought.