Manipur BJP leader escapes bomb blast

March 13, 2016: Thokchom Satyabrata, a BJP leader
in Manipur, had a narrow escape on Saturday night in a bomb blast at
his home in the state capital, police said on Sunday.

Police said they were investigating the blast that occurred at the leader’s home in Bhagybati Leikai in Imphal West district.

Satyabrata had contested the assembly election in 2012 but lost.

In another incident, a hand-grenade was lobbed at a petrol pump in Hatta
in the same district in which an employee was injured by shrapnel.

Police also said unidentified miscreants set ablaze the office of the
zonal education officer at Jiribam in Imphal East district at 11.30 p.m.
on Saturday.

Residents and fire-fighters managed to douse the raging flames before much damage was done.

A large number of women on Sunday staged sit-in protests condemning the bomb blasts in crowded places.

A woman protester said it was “senseless” on the part of the assailants
to explode bombs in residential areas and marketplaces since many
innocent people could have been killed and wounded.

Recently, the public health sub-centre and veterinary office in Mekola
near Imphal had received extortion threats. Womenfolk of the region have
been protesting against the threats.

Police said an outlawed organisation demanded a huge amount from the
heads of the two offices. However, nobody has been arrested so far.