ETHNIC MINORITY organisations in parts of India’s violence-ridden north-eastern state shut schools and businesses today, in protest at the killings of 10 people by paramilitary soldiers.

They called for an 11-hour shutdown in the hill districts of Manipur from early Tuesday. Heavy gunfire was reported overnight in the periphery of the hills and the Imphal Valley.

Day-to-day life was paralysed in the area, with schools and businesses closed and people staying indoors. There were no vehicles on the road.