Unidentified men torched three abandoned houses at New Lambulane locality in Manipur's capital Imphal on Sunday afternoon.

Firemen rushed to the spot and put off the blaze, officials said.

Soon after the incident, people gathered in the area and demanded state and central forces deployed in the locality to allow them to enter the area, officials said, adding that the security forces later fired a few rounds of tear gas shells to disperse the crowd.

In another development, unidentified men snatched three weapons from the security personnel guarding the residence of former health and family welfare director K Rajo around 2am on Sunday, police said.

The incident took place at Sagolband Bijoy Govinda under Imphal PS in Imphal West district, police said, adding the snatched weapons included two AK series rifles and a carbine.

Investigation is on to determine the circumstances leading to the incident, officials said.

Police, meanwhile, have launched multiple operations to retrieve the weapons and apprehend those involved.

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