Imphal, December 14 2008: TWO PERSONS including a woman leader of a Meira Paibi Lup were shot dead by gunmen in two different places of the state today.

A 50-year old woman named Seram Shanti, wife of S Sanajaoba, a leader of the Nongren Makha Leikai Meira Paibi Lup, was shot dead by some unidentified gunmen tonight around 8 pm at her own house under Lamlai police station, police said.

Reports said that some armed men who intruded into her house in connection with a monetary demand served to the family shot her when she protested against the armed men.

The armed men had come to the house yesterday and went away without achieving their demand of money from the family, the report added.

The armed men left the house after shooting the woman, the report said adding that she succumbed to her injuries on the way to hospital.

In another incident, suspected militants shot dead a non-local iron scrap collector today around 11 am at Thangmeiband Hijam Dewan Leikai in Imphal west.

Police suspect that the killing might be related to the earlier warning to the non-locals moving around in populated areas by some insurgent groups alleging that they act as army informers.

The non-local who was later identified from his I-card by the police as Md Hassan hailing from Musidabad, West Bengal was shot to dead by three miscreants coming into a Honda Activa brand scooter while he was moving with his rickshaw with iron scraps collected for the day at the by-lane at Thangmeiband Hijam Dewan Leikai under Lamphel police station, police said.

Police recovered two empty cases of 9mm pistol from the spot where the dead body was found lying into a pool of blood with bullet hit mark at the head.

The dead body has been deposited at RIMS morgue for official procedure.

Locals said, they could not exactly said who shot him dead but they could see three persons in a scooter together leaving the spot hurriedly after hearing two rounds of gun firing was heard.

The by-lane was empty at the time.