A BOMB BLAST IN IMPHAL, INDIA KILLS 17 AND INJURES MORE THAN 30.
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
In the 2008 Imphal bombings, at least 17 people were killed and more than 30 were injured on October 21, 2008. Hospital authorities said that the toll is expected to rise.
This was the second blast of such magnitude in the Indian Seven Sister States in the month of October 2008. It also follows a season of bomb blasts around the country in 2008 that have been carried out by various factions, contributing to a precipitous domestic instability.
The attack was a single blast triggered from a bomb rigged on to a Luna moped in the provincial capital of Manipur. The attack occurred at the gate of Ragailong in the Imphal West District.
The attack had targeted the barracks of security personnel, as well as civilians in the area, who were gambling ahead of the Diwali holiday. Police said they suspected the headquarters of the 20th Battalion, Assam Rifles, and the Manipur police commando complex, where personnel live with their families, were the targets of the attackers.
The blast came just two days after an explosion near the Manipur Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh's official residence in the capital.
Two days later security forces shot as many as eight militants who were said to be members of the Kangleipak Communist Party (MC). Imphal East SP, Radheshyam Singh, said: "At least three encounters took place in the two police districts of Imphal East and Imphal West on Thursday evening, during which eight militants have been killed."
Police believed the bomb was to avenge the killing of at least eight rebels by security forces last month. They have suspected the separatist People's Revolutionary Party of Kangleipak (PREPAK) to be responsible for the attack.
The following day the Kangleipak Communist Party (Military Council) (KCP (MC)) claimed responsibility for the blast saying it was a reaction to the gambling that reaches its peak during the Diwali holidays. The claim, distributed to newspaper offices in Imphal, said the explosion was triggered "in order to put an end to lagao," a form of gambling which it said was an "alien culture" that was adversely affecting Manipuri society. A statement said "Lagao is a form of gambling which is alien to Meitei culture and it needs to be stopped." The statement was signed by Lanheiba Meitei, a leader of the KCP (MC) faction formed out of the original KCP that was formed in 1980. Kangleipak is the historical name of Manipur which was adopted by the KCP in its attempt at the preservation of the Meitei culture, while it also demands secession of Manipur from India in order to achieve such goals.
The KCP in general has seen increased level of activity this month as the police reported the execution of two former members. They said the KCP's Thoubal district commander, identified as 2nd lieutenant Udoi alias Nongyai or Angousana, and his female companion, Leisa of Khangabok, were executed by the outfit for their anti-party and anti-revolutionary activities.
In the intial response to the attack in a highly fortified area like Ragailong, meant the CM instructed the top brass of the security services to "take up all necessary measures so that such attacks do not recur." This especially rang true with the upcoming festivals of Diwali and Ningol Chakkouba, so as to ensure both pass off peacefully. The SSP of Imphal West, L Kailun, said "apart from intensifying security vigil at all strategic locations in Imphal, the police has also started conducting a massive drive to check any abandoned vehicles." An appeal was also made to citizens to be on high alert and to notify the police if they come across any suspicious objects in market places or crowded areas.
India says some 3,000 rebels, live and train in the camps inside the jungles of the Kabaw Valley in Sagaing Division. Although India has signed a pact with Myanmar to share intelligence, it has proven insufficient to tackle the insurgency that is said to be caused by New Delhi's plundering of the region's mineral and forest resources with little investment returning. In retaliation the rebels want to throw non-Manipuris out of the province, while seeking statehood, a demand India does not acquiesce to.
About 700 armed PREPAK rebels have carried out regular attacks in the area. According to police, the rebels were believed to have escaped across a large porous border to their camps in neighbouring Myanmar. The border with Myanmar stretches about 370 km (230 miles), and security officials want the entire stretch to be barbed-wired to stop the smuggling of weapons and explosives. The entire area, home to more than 200 tribes, has been racked insurgencies virtually since India's independence.
