Imphal, May 18: Masked robbers armed with small weapons are regularly stalking homes in at least three Assembly constituencies of Manipur?s Imphal East district, causing panic among residents and leaving the police flabbergasted.

The hoodlums, invariably dressed in black, have been targeting isolated houses in the Assembly constituencies of Wangkhei, Khurai and Khetrigao for a couple of weeks now. Three houses were looted over the past week, forcing villagers to form groups of youths to keep vigil at night.

In the latest incident, which occurred in Khergao last night, four armed robbers barged into the house of one Abdul Zalim and demanded money. They panicked and fled when the family members cried out for help.

The robbery was attempted even as a group of residents was going from village to village, asking people over a public address system to be vigilant.

Alerted by the shouts of help emanating from Abdul?s house, villagers chased the four masked men but could not catch them.

A police team arrived soon after and mistook the villagers, who were armed with sticks and other lethal weapons, for a mob. They opened fire in the air to disperse the crowd. Nobody was injured except for a 40-year-old resident caught in the melee.

Last week, a group of masked gunmen entered a house at Thambalkhong in Wangkhei Assembly constituency and demanded Rs 15,000 from the family. They settled for Rs 1,000 on being told that there was no more cash in the house.

Women of the village took out a torchlight procession the next night.

The police still have no clue about the identity of the group. The Imphal East superintendent of police said his department was investigating the incidents.

A section of villagers suspects that some police personnel were trying to cover up the incidents.

The district police chief, however, ruled out any such possibility. ?In any case, we are making all possible efforts to find the truth. If any police personnel are found involved in the incidents, they will not be spared,? he said.

The suspicion of the villagers has been fuelled by past instances of police personnel being found guilty of involvement in extortion.

Manan Khan, president of the Eastern Baruni Road Athletics Union, demanded the Okram Ibobi Singh government?s intervention. ?No villager has slept peacefully at night since this trend started,? he said.