Manipur: Another suspected IED blast reported from Imphal; probe underway

A suspected IED blast took place in the early morning in Manipur's Imphal East region on Wednesday. As informed by police officials, the incident took place in front of a Gala mal Godown Telipati around 3:30 AM. However, no casualties have been reported from the incident and investigations are underway. 

Also, the Porompat police team of the Imphal East region quickly rushed to the spot after receiving information and inspected the situation. A team of Forensic Science Laboratory also reached the blast site and is investigating the incident. 

Speaking on the same, Sub-inspector of Police for Porompat Police Station, Khailet Lhanghal informed about the blast being suspected to be from an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) and a suspect has also been detected by the police through CCTV footage. However, the identity of the suspect remains unknown. 

"We are scrutinizing the CCTV footage and a man has been suspected who can be seen standing in front of the godown where the blast took place. However, his identity still remains unknown. He was riding on an Activa and stopped in front of Gala mal Godown Telipati which is owned by Ramnath Sahu", Lhanghal said. 

Meanwhile, the owner of the godown Ramnath Sahu has said about having no issues or enmity with anyone and he wasn't aware of the reason behind the blast in his godown. 

Blast and attacks in Northeastern regions

This blast came days after another powerful explosion that took place in the Imphal East region on December 15. The blast which took place at a pharmacy in the Lamlong area of Imphal east blew up an entire pharmacy and also affected the other shops located nearby. Earlier, another such explosion was reported on November 18 at the Imphal West district in front of a shop, reported Northeast Today. 

Notably, the shocking developments along the North Eastern region including Manipur came after the ghastly attack on the Assam Rifles convoy on December 13 which claimed the lives of 46 Assam Rifles Commanding Officer Colonel Viplav Tripathi, his wife, and his 8-year-old son along with four other personnel. As a result of this, scrutinization has also been intensified by defence officials and paramilitary personnel.

Image: Twitter/@ANI