The Manipur Police arrested nine people in connection with the murder of a woman in the state's Imphal East district, officials said on Monday, as reported by the news agency PTI. The woman was shot dead on Saturday evening in the Sawombung area. Among those arrested were five women, and two firearms were seized from them, officials said. The arrests were made from different parts of the district, they said.


The woman was from the Maring Naga community, as reported by PTI. The Heikakmapal Village Development Committee said it would banish three accused from the locality.


Superintendent of Police (Imphal East) Ksh Shivakanta Singh said an investigation was underway, and if any other person was found involved in the murder, they would be arrested, PTI reported. A 12-hour shutdown began at 6 am on Monday in the areas where Naga people live in the state. The shutdown has been called by the United Naga Council (UNC), the apex body of Nagas in Manipur, to protest the killing.


The UNC demanded a judicial inquiry into the murder and "exemplary punishment" for the accused.


Following the ethnic clashes in the northeastern state on May 3, more than 150 people lost their lives and several thousand were injured. The clashes broke out after a 'Tribal Solidarity March' was organised in the hill districts to protest against the Meitei community's demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status. Meiteis account for about 53 per cent of Manipur's population and live mostly in the Imphal Valley. Tribals -- Nagas and Kukis -- constitute another 40 per cent of the population and reside in the hill districts.


In another incident, three empty trucks were set on fire in Manipur's Imphal West district last week on Saturday. The incident happened at Awang Sekmai in Sekmai police station area, they said.


According to the police, the trucks, used for transporting LPG cylinders, were parked in an open field when they were torched, PTI reported. Those behind the incident are yet to be identified, police said, adding that it was not immediately clear why the trucks were set on fire.


Security forces tried to douse the blaze, but could not save the trucks, they said. A case was filed in connection with the incident, police said.


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