Imphal: A powerful IED exploded near a house in Manipur’s Thoubal district on Saturday night, damaging vehicles parked near the house, police said. No human casualty was reported in the blast near the house belonging to a person of Waithou Bazar under Lilong police station of Thoubal district last night, around 11.20 pm.
Sources said that the blast occurred near the house of one Ajit who is a retired Assam Rifles personnel. The impact of the explosion damaged two JCBs, a tipper truck and one Maruti car parked on the roadside along NH-102 (Imphal-Moreh highway). Police suspected the IED was planted at one of the JCBs.
Even as the police suspected militants serving monetary demand from Ajit behind the bomb attack, he said that he had not received monetary demand from any of the armed groups earlier. He also said that the JCBs were bought with the monetary benefits he received after his retirement from the service.
Meanwhile, condemning the blast at the residential area, womenfolk of Waithou Bazar area today staged a sit-in-protest. While registering a strong denouncement of the blast at populated areas, the protesters demanded booking of the culprit(s) while appealing to clarify if any of the armed outfits was behind the blast. Womenfolk staged the protest under the aegis of Waithou Meira Paibi Lup.
President Bijaya Leima of the body alleged that the blast has caused panic to the residents of the area. She pressed that the perpetrator(s) should clarify the reason behind triggering the blast. If they fail to do so, they will launch various forms of protest, she added. At the same time, she also pressed the pertinent authorities of the state government to book the culprit(s) at the earliest.
NNN