New Delhi, Jan 6: Three improvised explosive device (IED) blasts occurred in an abandoned house in Manipur’s Bishnupur district in the early hours of Monday, injuring two persons, officials said. No group has so far claimed responsibility for the incident.
The explosions took place between 5.40 am and 5.55 am, with another blast reported around 8.30 am. The incident has raised fresh security concerns in the state, which has witnessed a period of fragile calm after months of ethnic unrest.
In response to the blasts, several civil society and student organisations, including the Indigenous People Organisation Manipur (IPOM), the All Manipur Students’ Union (AMSU) and Yelhoumee Kanba Lup, jointly called for a 24-hour statewide shutdown to protest the incident.
The Kuki-Zo Council (KZC) strongly condemned the explosions, describing them as a serious threat to peace, public safety and communal harmony.
The council said the incident amounted to violence against innocent civilians and expressed concern that the blasts occurred in and around a government-designated buffer zone created to prevent confrontations and safeguard civilian lives.
The Coordinating Committee on Manipur Integrity (COCOMI), a Meitei-dominated civil society group, also denounced the incident. In a statement, it said the targeting of a civilian household under the cover of darkness reflected a disturbing and recurring pattern of impunity allegedly enjoyed by armed narco-terrorist groups operating in the region.
Officials said the area where the blasts occurred is under the security cover of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF). The house in which the explosive devices were planted belongs to a local resident who is currently staying at a relief camp.
Following the initial explosion, residents rushed to the spot, during which two persons sustained injuries. Both are undergoing treatment at Bishnupur district hospital.
Security forces have launched a sanitisation operation in and around the area to rule out the presence of additional explosive devices, officials added.
