NEW DELHI, June 8 (Xinhua) -- Local government in India's northeastern state of Manipur has imposed an indefinite curfew following worsening in law and order situation over the killing of a man, officials said Saturday.
The curfew was imposed across villages in Jiribam district, about 217 km west of Imphal, the capital city of Manipur.
Authorities have also evacuated over 200 people belonging to the Meitei community from their villages in Jiribam and shifted them to a newly set up relief camp.
Reports said tension gripped the district over the beheading of a 59-year-old man who went missing from his farm. Following his death, an irate mob allegedly set ablaze three abandoned villages belonging to the Kuki-Zo community in the district, triggering clashes between members of the two communities.
Several police outposts were also targeted.
Manipur has been on edge since May 3 last year when large-scale violence broke out in the state during a tribal protest over the inclusion of the non-tribal Meiteis community for a scheduled tribe status designated for disadvantaged socio-economic groups which gives them reservations in education and government jobs.
Last year, ethnic clashes between the majority Meitei group and the tribal Kuki minority displaced over 60,000 people.
The state has been witnessing gunfights and killings between these rival armed groups, which claimed over 200 lives and injured over 1,100. ■
