Imphal, June 21 2010: A woman passenger and a driver were injured when two unknown persons smashed at least two Imphal to Mao service passenger buses Monday morning at separate places in Imphal.

In protest against the incident, the Senapati District Motor Vehicles Owners Association,Manipur has called a 24 hour bandh on passenger vehicle services in the district on Tuesday.

The Senapati District Students Association (SDSA) and Liangmai Naga Council, Manipur also strongly condemned the incident and asked the concern authority to book the culprits at the earliest.

Reports said that the injured woman passenger Ningthoukhongjam Jamini (35) wife of Rajendro of Malom, Imphal received head injury when miscreants, masked their faces with cloth, attacked the bus she was boarding at the gate of the 2nd MR, North AOC around 5.30 am.

The driver identified as one Shekho also was injured in the incident.

Jamini was about to travel the route upto Mao on the bus (MN01-1167).She has been admitted at RIMS Hospital.

A highly reliable source said that she was among the passengers who will proceed Guwahati with a bus engaged by an inter-state booking counter in Imphal for onward journey to Guwahati.

The other bus with registration number MN01-0341 was also smashed on the way to Mao at Sangakpham Bazar some minutes after the attack on the first visit.

Volunteers of the agitating Transporters' and Drivers' Council imposing ban on plying of commercial vehicles along the Imphal-Dimapur section of the NH-39 could have been behind the attack on the buses for allegedly carrying passengers going outside the state upto Mao gate.

It may be mentioned that even though the council imposed ban on the vehicles travelling on the Imphal-Dimapur section of the NH-39, most of the booking counters of Imphal to Guwahati were open and selling tickets.

When made enquiry, they said that they were selling tickets for buses on NH-53 (Imphal-Jiribam).