Four persons were arrested by the district police on Friday and sent to jail for allegedly being involved in the Suki killing, carried out by suspected Maoists, at Patepur in Vaishali district last week. An armed squad of the outlawed CPI (Maoist) had allegedly gunned down deputy head of Patepur block Umesh Singh and his son Kunal Bharti at Suki village, accusing them of sympathising with feudal forces.

Confirming the arrests, police sources said they had been identified as Dukhan Sahni, Chandan Kumar, Dharmendra Kumar and Shiv Chandra Mahto-- residents of Ripenpatti, Paharpur and other adjoining villages under Baligaon and the Patepur police station areas.

Police sources said preliminary investigations by a special team found the involvement of the four persons in the twin murder. A senior police officer preferring anonymity said combing operations were in progress in and around Suki village.

Special Task Force (STF) units and other armed police forces were reportedly keeping strict vigil in and around the village in the wake of Maoist incidents in the area.

Meanwhile, a CPI (Maoist) spokesperson reportedly issued a warning that any further action in connection with the Suki killings would receive violent response.

Police and district administration officials, however, declined to make any comment on the issue.