Nine arrested in connection with woman's murder, 12-hour shutdown in Naga areas

Nine people were arrested in connection with the murder of a woman in Manipur's Imphal East district, officials said on Monday.

The woman in her mid-50s was shot dead on Saturday evening in the Sawombung area, they said.

Among those arrested for the murder were five women, and two firearms were seized from them, officials said.

The arrests were made from different parts of the district, they said.

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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.

The woman was from the Maring Naga community.

The Heikakmapal Village Development Committee said it would banish three accused from the locality.

Meanwhile, 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.

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.

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.