Policeman among 4 killed in fresh violence in India's Manipur

NEW DELHI, July 8 (Xinhua) -- At least four people, including a policeman and a teenager, were killed and several others wounded in separate incidents in India's northeastern state of Manipur, police said Saturday.

According to officials, the policeman was killed in a gunfight with suspected militants Friday evening and three others lost their lives in Kangvai, Songdo and Awang Lekhai villages of Bishnupur and Churachandpur districts.

Meanwhile, a mob torched two private vehicles at Mahabali Road near Kangla Fort in Imphal West. However, the drivers managed to escape unhurt.

On Thursday, an elderly woman was shot dead near a school in Imphal West district. The killing took place a day after schools partially reopened in the state.

There has been no respite in the ongoing incidents of violence, attacks, arson, and exchange of gunfire in the state.

The reopening of schools is seen as a first step towards restoring normalcy in the strife-torn state.

The authorities have extended the ongoing ban on internet services until July 10.

The northeastern state is on edge since May 3 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.

The authorities responded by imposing a curfew and putting a blanket ban on internet services as a precautionary measure to restrict the mobilization of crowds in the state. The ban has been in place since then.

The ethnic clashes have left over 100 people dead, over 3,000 injured and displaced 60,000 others.

The mobs in the state have been resorting to vandalism and arson, during which hundreds of houses and shops were gutted. The mobs even targeted houses and properties belonging to ministers and leaders of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party.

So far, efforts by the federal government to restore peace in Manipur have not yielded desired results.