Bomb blast rocks Imphal on I-Day eve
Source: Hueiyen News Service
Imphal, August 14 2013:
On the eve of Independence Day Celebration-2013, which has been boycotted by several underground outfits in the State, a low-intensity bomb exploded in front of City Convention Centre, amidst tight security, at Palace Compound at around 6 pm here today.
This was the second such bomb blast in four days in Imphal which has become almost fortified with intense security measures to thwart any disturbance in the run up to the Independence Day celebration.
The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) also had given strong instruction to the State Government to have a very high security alert.
On Sunday last, a similar blast occurred at the main gate of Chief Minister's Bungalow.
The site of today's blast is located about 1 km away from the Chief Minister's bungalow and around 50 metres from All India Radio (AIR) Imphal station.
It is said that a team of Police Commandos was stationing at the Palace Gate at the time of blast.
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According to police, the bomb was an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) triggered through a remote control device.
However, nothing could be recovered from the explosion site and there was also no casualty.
The bomb exploded at the footpath just in front of City Convention Centre.
The footpath is usually packed with pedestrians during daytime, but there was none at the time of explosion.
Minutes after the blast, top police officials including DIG Range-1 Clay Khongsai, Imphal East SP Angam Romanus Kamei and others rushed in to the spot and cordoned off the area to carry out search operation but no arrest was made in connection with the blast.
In the aftermath of bomb blast at the main gate of Chief Minister's Bungalow on Saturday last, security measures have been beefed up in areas of Imphal East and Imphal West.
The road passing through Chief Minister's Bungalow has been blocked on one side as a security measure and also the number of security personnel manning the Bungalow as well as deployed in other parts of the city has been increased to a great extent.
Ahead of the Independence Day Celebration, state security forces along with central paramilitary personnel are taking up intense security measures day and night to prevent any untoward incident.
Frisking and search operations have been conducted frequently by security forces at various places to ensure peaceful celebration of the Independence Day.