The bomb exploded in front of a shop around 9:20 on Tuesday morning. The bomb exploded in front of a shop around 9:20 on Tuesday morning.

An Improvised Explosive Device (IED) exploded at Thangal market in Imphal on Tuesday, injuring five policemen including an Additional Superintendent of Police and a civilian.

The police said the bomb exploded in front of a shop around 9.20 am. The injured were rushed to a nearby hospital, where doctors said they were out of danger.

It is learnt that the police had detected the bomb and was cordoning off the area when it exploded. The police believe a remote detonating device was used.

#WATCH CCTV footage of the IED (Improvised explosive device) blast at Thangal Bazar in Imphal today; 4 policemen and 1 civilian injured #Manipur pic.twitter.com/a4OecynFxF — ANI (@ANI) November 5, 2019

“Some of the police personnel on duty found a suspicious-looking object and started evacuating civilians from the area. Unfortunately, the bomb exploded. Had the team not detected the bomb there could have been high casualty,” said a police officer.

Police believe a remote detonating device was used. Police believe a remote detonating device was used.

Condemning the blast, Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh called the attack an act of a cowardice. The CM visited the blast site and met the injured at the hospital.

“This could be an act of retaliation by the anti-social elements against the measure taken by the Government to make the state peaceful. They want to disturb the peace in the state and are venting their frustration as Manipur has been very peaceful in the past few years,” said the Chief Minister.

The incident comes amidst heavy security deployment in and around Imphal in the wake of the Indo-Naga peace talks. Sources said that there are around 6,000 additional troops deployed in the state to thwart any eventuality arising out of the yet to be signed Indo-Naga peace pact.

When asked if there was any security lapse, the CM said, “This kind of incident is carried out by elements who blend in with the civilian population and are hard to detect but our Government will intensify security measures to prevent such incidents in the future.”

This is the second blast in Imphal. Three BSF jawans were left injured in an explosion at Telipati in Imphal east district last Sunday.

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