The three people killed on Thursday night belonged to the majority Metei community in the state’s Bishnupur district, a police spokesperson said.
The months-long outbreak of violence began on May 3 after a court ordered the state to consider extending to the majority Meitei population special economic benefits and quotas in government jobs and education that up to now have been reserved for the tribal Kuki people.
A spokesperson for a Kuki civil society group said it did not have an immediate comment on the latest killings.
Over 180 people have been killed and thousands have fled their homes, since the violence started in Manipur, a state of 3.2 million that borders Myanmar.
Meanwhile, the district administration has shortened curfew relaxation hours in the twin Imphal districts because of the violence.
"Instead of curfew relaxation from 5am to 6pm in the twin Imphal districts, it will now be from 5am to 10.30am," an official said.On August 4, Manipur Police said a joint security force conducted an operation in the Koutruk hill range and destroyed seven illegal bunkers.
Meanwhile, the 24-hour general strike called by the coordinating committee of 27 assembly constituencies in Manipur on Saturday paralysed normal life in Imphal Valley, with markets and business establishments remaining shut in almost all localities.
