IMPHAL, Feb. 9 -- Twenty-three houses were set ablaze in a Manipur village on Sunday night despite an indefinite curfew in the area, officials said on Monday. The incident was the fallout of an altercation on Saturday between a Tangkhul Naga group and a Kuki group in Litan Sareikhong village in Ukhrul district at 8.30pm, they said.

During the altercation, one man, Sterling Shimray, who is from the nearby Sakibung village, sustained an injury to his jaw, following which tension erupted between the two villages, police said.

The district magistrate then issued a prohibitory order with effect from 7pm Sunday, saying "as per report from reliable source there is an apprehension that could lead to breach of peace and public tranquillity at Li...