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MPHAL: Barely 12 hours after militants tried to blow up the Manipur Governor House by driving into the Raj Bhavan in a Maruti 800 rigged with
explosives, rebels launched rocket attacks at the residence of consumer affairs and public distribution Y Erabot in Imphal late on Friday night.
Tension gripped the Khurai Ahongei area near Jawaharlal Nehru Hospital in Imphal East after militants hurled three lathod bombs at Erabot's residence around 11.45 pm. While one of the bombs exploded on the top floor of the house, the other two missed the target and fell inside a pond. No one was injured in the blast.
The minister was in a room on the first floor of the three-storey building when the attack took place, sources said, adding that the bombs were fired from the rear side of the house. Additional security forces were rushed to the spot.
Police have launched a massive manhunt to nab the attackers. No rebel group has so far claimed responsibility for the attack.
In the meantime, foolproof security arrangements have been made in and around the Raj Bhavan after the militants
tried to blow it up on Friday afternoon. Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh met Governor Gurbachan Jagat to asses the security situation.
Fighters from the banned Kangleipak Communist Party, Military Council (KCP-MC) had parked a Maruti 800 fitted with a 25-kg IED inside the Governor's House around 12.30 pm. Timely detection of the explosive had averted a major disaster.
Four Manipur Police commandos, who were on duty at the Raj Bhavan, have been suspended after the incident. "We have also deployed more se-curity personnel at the Raj Bhavan. Scanning of all vehicles has been made mandatory before being allowed to move inside," a senior police officer said.
The Maruti 800, rigged with explosives, stood less than 100 metres from the Governor's office for an entire hour before the securitymen spotted it.
The security lapse left officials fumbling for answers. Kangleipak Communist Party-Military Council (KCP-MC) had claimed responsibility for the bid on the Governor's life, calling him a "mastermind of state terror-ism".
The militants had posed as social activists to get an appointment with Jagat, who has been readily meeting NGO workers ever since the fake encounter killings rocked the state on July 23. How the militants made it past two checkpoints manned by state police and CRPF is a mystery.
They came in two cars around 12.30 pm, parked one and left in the other, without meeting the Governor.
"We have stepped up security and frisking at all strategic points of Imphal," the police officer said. Three persons have so far been picked up for interrogation.
The explosive that was set off at a safer place at Pangei here was an IED, he said, adding that the militants had planned to trigger the blast by dialling two mobile phones that were inside the car along with the bombs. Sources said the registration number embossed on the car was a forged one.
Attacks on residences of VVIPs are shockingly common in Manipur. In December last year, militants lobbed two grenades at the Raj Bhavan. Chief minister Okram Ibobi Singh's office-cum-bungalow has been attacked twice in the last two years. In March 2007, underground activists triggered a grenade explosion inside the Manipur Assembly complex. Even the Babupara VIP Colony, which is close to the CM's bungalow, has come under bomb attack.
After last year's rebel attack on Raj Bhavan, the entire security deployment had been re-assessed and enhanced. Subsequently, more floodlights were put up in and around the place and the height of its compound wall was raised in addition to install closed-circuit television cameras.
MPHAL: Barely 12 hours after militants tried to blow up the Manipur Governor House by driving into the Raj Bhavan in a Maruti 800 rigged with
explosives, rebels launched rocket attacks at the residence of consumer affairs and public distribution Y Erabot in Imphal late on Friday night.
Tension gripped the Khurai Ahongei area near Jawaharlal Nehru Hospital in Imphal East after militants hurled three lathod bombs at Erabot's residence around 11.45 pm. While one of the bombs exploded on the top floor of the house, the other two missed the target and fell inside a pond. No one was injured in the blast.
The minister was in a room on the first floor of the three-storey building when the attack took place, sources said, adding that the bombs were fired from the rear side of the house. Additional security forces were rushed to the spot.
Police have launched a massive manhunt to nab the attackers. No rebel group has so far claimed responsibility for the attack.
In the meantime, foolproof security arrangements have been made in and around the Raj Bhavan after the militants
tried to blow it up on Friday afternoon. Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh met Governor Gurbachan Jagat to asses the security situation.
Fighters from the banned Kangleipak Communist Party, Military Council (KCP-MC) had parked a Maruti 800 fitted with a 25-kg IED inside the Governor's House around 12.30 pm. Timely detection of the explosive had averted a major disaster.
Four Manipur Police commandos, who were on duty at the Raj Bhavan, have been suspended after the incident. "We have also deployed more se-curity personnel at the Raj Bhavan. Scanning of all vehicles has been made mandatory before being allowed to move inside," a senior police officer said.
The Maruti 800, rigged with explosives, stood less than 100 metres from the Governor's office for an entire hour before the securitymen spotted it.
The security lapse left officials fumbling for answers. Kangleipak Communist Party-Military Council (KCP-MC) had claimed responsibility for the bid on the Governor's life, calling him a "mastermind of state terror-ism".
The militants had posed as social activists to get an appointment with Jagat, who has been readily meeting NGO workers ever since the fake encounter killings rocked the state on July 23. How the militants made it past two checkpoints manned by state police and CRPF is a mystery.
They came in two cars around 12.30 pm, parked one and left in the other, without meeting the Governor.
"We have stepped up security and frisking at all strategic points of Imphal," the police officer said. Three persons have so far been picked up for interrogation.
The explosive that was set off at a safer place at Pangei here was an IED, he said, adding that the militants had planned to trigger the blast by dialling two mobile phones that were inside the car along with the bombs. Sources said the registration number embossed on the car was a forged one.
Attacks on residences of VVIPs are shockingly common in Manipur. In December last year, militants lobbed two grenades at the Raj Bhavan. Chief minister Okram Ibobi Singh's office-cum-bungalow has been attacked twice in the last two years. In March 2007, underground activists triggered a grenade explosion inside the Manipur Assembly complex. Even the Babupara VIP Colony, which is close to the CM's bungalow, has come under bomb attack.
After last year's rebel attack on Raj Bhavan, the entire security deployment had been re-assessed and enhanced. Subsequently, more floodlights were put up in and around the place and the height of its compound wall was raised in addition to install closed-circuit television cameras.
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