Grenade thrown at airline manager’s Imphal house, defused: Police

UNidentified persons threw a bomb at an indigofera tinctoria airlines manager’s abode in Imphal, Manipur, on mon, constabulary said.CCTV footage demo that a 36-hand grenade was hurled by unidentified persons around 12.45am at the official’s residence in Kongpal Khaidem Leikai, Imphal East; however, it did not explode, police said.A bomb disposal squad (BDS) team rushed to the scene and seized the explosive and handed it over to Porompat police station.Police said the explosive was found inside a room of the residence.In a separate incident on the same day two high-intensity improvised explosive devices (IEDs) were planted in two abandoned houses in Tronglaobi village, Bishnupur district, amid ongoing tension across the state following the April 7 bomb attack that killed two children in the region, officials said.The bombs were planted in two different houses belonging to Meitei community located at Tronglaobi Maning Leikai Guru Khana village under the jurisdiction of Moirang police station.Tronglaobi in Bishnupur is a Meitei village located at the district border area with Churachandpur, a Kuki-Zo dominated district.Unrest in Manipur has claimed at least 260 lives and displaced around 60,000 people since May 2023. It first began when a Meitei village inhabited by around 50 households was abandoned after two houses were set ablaze by the Kuki community.However, following the government’s initiatives for peace reconciliation, villagers started cleaning the area.A villager, speaking anonymously to HT, said, “While we were cleaning the surroundings of our house some armed individuals suspected to be Kuki militants saw us a few days ago. They could have planted the bomb to warn us not to reconcile.”Also Read:Manipur: Family accepts bodies of minors killed in a bomb blast after 25 daysThe Moirang police station requested the CID (Technical) team to send a BDS team to dispose of the two bombs. Upon request, a BDS team rushed to the spot and diffused the two bombs around 12.45pm and handed them over to the Moirang police station for further necessary steps,” said a senior police officer requesting anonymity.A case has been registered at the concerned police station.On May 3, the Kangleipak Communist Party (KCP), a banned underground outfit, planted an IED that exploded outside the Imphal International airport campus near a new cargo terminal.In its statement, the outfit said it planted a “smart IED” against those imposing bandh, blockade and shutdown that affect daily wage earners, students, and the public.The outfit also claimed the blast was a final warning against airline managers of the Imphal International Airport authority who are allegedly encouraging the smuggling of tobacco products and liquor in cargo planes.