GAUHATI, India: Naga protesters on Thursday blocked a key highway and authorities shut down wireless Internet services to quell heightening tension in a northeast Indian state where seven people have died in violence this week.

The protesters cut trees and moved boulders to stop trucks, buses and cars on the highway linking Manipur state with the rest of India, paralyzing normal life in the area.

N. Biren Singh, a ruling Congress party lawmaker, said the state government blocked wireless Internet and text messaging services on Wednesday to stop rumors from provoking people to take to the streets.

The violence erupted on Monday after the state legislature approved new legislation defining who can claim to be from Manipur. Rioters set fire to the homes of nine lawmakers during a rampage.

One person who was trapped in a burning house died, and three people died when police fired to disperse the arsonists on Monday.