Imphal: A woman was shot dead and her face disfigured in Sawombung area of Manipur's Imphal East district on Saturday evening, officials said here.
The woman in her mid-50s was shot in her face at her residence by some armed men, they said. The gunmen also disfigured her face before fleeing, they added. The area has been cordoned off and Manipur Police personnel were carrying out searches and raiding some of the houses in the nearby locality. Statements of people around the incident area are being recorded, the officials said.
Also read: Manipur: Woman shot dead outside school in Imphal West; gunfire heard in Kangpokpi
The woman, who was believed to have some mental health issues, was from the Maring Naga community. More than 150 people lost their lives and several thousand were injured since ethnic clashes broke out in the state on May 3, after a 'Tribal Solidarity March' was organised in the hill districts to protest against the Meitei community's demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status.
Meanwhile, three empty trucks were set on fire in Manipur's Imphal West district earlier in the day, PTI quoted police as saying. The incident took place at Awang Sekmai in Sekmai police station area. According to police, the trucks, used for carrying LPG cylinders, were parked in an open field when they were set on fire.
Those behind the incident are yet to be identified, police said, adding it is not immediately clear why the trucks were set ablaze. A case has been registered in connection with the incident, police added. The security forces tried to douse the flames. However, they failed to save the trucks, police said.
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 the first week of July, a woman was shot dead near a school in Imphal West district of Manipur, a day after schools resumed classes in the state, police said.
Schools were shut for over two months in view of the ongoing ethnic violence in Manipur. The northeastern state has been witnessing ethnic clashes between the tribal communities – Meitei and Kuki – which have also displaced around 50,000.
