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.

The Manipur state police said those killed Monday were “armed militants” and the soldiers fired at them after they attacked their post near the district town of Jiribam on Monday.

One soldier with a bullet injury was evacuated to a hospital for treatment, the police said in a statement.

But the Tribal Leaders Forum said that all those killed were local village volunteers belonging to the Hmar ethnic group who were patrolling the area to protect tribal villages following a recent armed attack that killed a woman.

A police statement said the paramilitary soldiers retaliated against the militants’ attack which led to an exchange of gunfire.

“A search of the area resulted in the recovery of 10 bodies of armed militants as well as sophisticated automatic weapons,” the statement said.

Around 250 people have been killed and 60,000 displaced since the ethnic violence started last year.