Manipur: Unexploded Mortar Bomb Found Near CM N Biren Singh's Residence

The incident occurred a few hundred metres from a BSF camp and nearly one-and-a-half km from the private residence of Chief Minister N Biren Singh.

An unexploded mortar bomb was found near the private residence of Chief Minister N. Biren Singh in Manipur.

Source : PTI

An unexploded mortar bomb was found near Koirengei, close to the private residence of Chief Minister N. Biren Singh on Tuesday. 

The police said that the 51 mm mortar bomb was found at Khongampat in Manipur’s Imphal East district.

Security forces cordoned off the area and later defused the bomb, officials said. Meanwhile, an investigation has been launched to ascertain the source of the bomb and the motive behind its placement so close to the CM's residence.

The incident occurred a few hundred metres from a BSF camp and nearly one-and-a-half km from the private residence of Chief Minister N Biren Singh, PTI reported. The mortar was discovered by locals in the fields of Khongampat on Tuesday morning.

Police said that they had arrested a hardcore cadre of the banned Kangleipak Communist Party (KCP-PWG) outfit, identified as Irengbam Rameshwar Singh, from Kakching Lamkhai area under Kakching district on Monday night. 

Earlier in September, a bomb exploded at the house of Manipur’s Transport Minister Khashim Vashum in Ukhrul town, about 80 km northeast of Imphal. 

Manipur Issue Resonates In Parliament

The Congress on Tuesday accused Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Manipur CM N Biren Singh of making “self-contradictory statements” as well as changing their versions for the reasons behind the violence in the state.

The party also claimed that these “contradictions and confusions” are factors for the failure of the government to bring peace and normalcy in the state.

“In a recent interview, Shah stated that the turmoil in Manipur is an ethnic clash between two communities. Singh has previously pointed to illegal infiltrators from Myanmar to be the reason behind the violence,” state Congress president Keisham Meghachandra said.

Keisham stated that Shah, in response to a no-confidence motion in August 2023, had stated that the problem started after the Manipur High Court passed an order related to the demand for inclusion of the Meitei community in the ST list, but after a few months accused infiltrators of being involved in the violence. These statements revealed the self-contradiction of the union home minister, Keisham alleged.

The Congress leader also claimed that the chief minister had stated at the beginning of the violence that it was due to failure of law and order and intelligence lapses, but later put the blame on illegal immigrants.