Security forces used tear gas to disperse a crowd that had gathered in the heart of Manipur's capital Imphal late Thursday as the violence in the state claimed one more life.
The crowd had assembled to pay floral tribute to a former merchant navy officer killed earlier in the day in a gunfight in the district of Kangpokpi.
The body of the man, placed in a traditional coffin, was brought to the Khwairamband Bazaar in the heart of Imphal.
Led by women, the demonstrators threatened to carry the coffin in a procession to the residence of Chief Minister Biren N Singh, according to officials.
To prevent police from arresting them, they burned tyres in the middle of the road.
The police, accompanied by Rapid Action Force (RAF) personnel, arrived at the scene and fired tear gas shells to disperse the crowd.
The body was then moved to the morgue at the Jawaharlal Nehru Institute of Medical Sciences in an attempt to de-escalate the situation.
Earlier in the day, the army said a person was killed, and several others were injured when armed "rioters" opened unprovoked fire in the village of Haraothel, located in Kangpokpi district.
The local army unit reported "unconfirmed casualties" while noting that there could be other bodies on the ground.
Intermittent firing continued in the area, making it difficult to determine the exact number of casualties, they said.
The Indian Army's Twitter handle, "Spear Corps," stated that their troops immediately mobilized in response to the early morning firing.
They reported encountering resistance from the armed rioters but managed to prevent the situation from escalating.
Additional troops were moved to the area in response to the large crowds and reported casualties1.
Later in the evening, the Spear Corps reported controlling the mob buildup that was interfering with security operations.
They also reported hearing gunfire from the eastern village of K Munlai around 4 pm, and an exchange of fire from the direction of village Bethel, located south of the National Sports University, at approximately 5:15 pm. The army said it was "dominating the area to de-escalate the situation".
At least 100 people have been killed and more than 40,000 have fled their homes since clashes broke out in Manipur in early May between ethnic groups.
Sporadic incidents of violence and arson still occur despite the heavy presence of security forces in parts of the remote state, which borders Myanmar.
Violence between members of the Kuki ethnic group, who mostly live in the hills, and Meiteis, the dominant community in the lowlands, erupted on May 3 as a result of resentment over economic benefits and quotas in government jobs and education reserved for hill people.
Several rounds of peace talks between the groups have broken down and failed to end violent incidents in the state governed by the BJP.
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