IMPHAL, Dec 3 (NNN): Suspected militants planted an IED weighing 4 kg in front of a shop in Imphal’s Andro Parking under Porompat police station of Imphal east district on Saturday.
Personnel of the Manipur police bomb detection and disposal squad took about an hour to defuse the IED.
The IED fitted in an aluminum pot was found planted on the side of the CIA Enterprises, a shop dealing with motor-vehicle spare parts.
The police said that a team of Porompat police station rushed to the shop when salesmen of the shop informed about an unattended carry bag on the side of the shop around 11 am.
As a precautionary measure, the police immediately closed the road from traffic completely before calling out experts from the state police bomb detection and disposal squad.
The experts used two jammers while examining the unattended carry bag which was found containing the IED fitted on the aluminum pot.
The experts took around an hour to defuse the IED and it was later disposed of at an open place at the foothill of Baruni hills later.
While trying to defuse the IED, the police blocked the traffic along the Imphal-Yairipok Road from Palace gate to Ningthem Pukhri Mapal for about an hour.
The shop where the IED was planted belongs to Chengcheng Singh of Wangoi Wahengbam Leikai.
The police as well as the shop owner were yet to ascertain the motive behind the planting of the powerful IED. No militant group owned up the responsibility for planting the bomb till the time of filing this report.
The police, however, suspected monetary demand by a militant group behind the planting of the bomb.
The Porompat police station registered a case and initiated investigation to ascertain the motive behind the planting of the bomb, the source said.
