NEW DELHI, India
At least four people were killed and over 20 people were injured Wednesday evening in a suspected remote-controlled bomb attack at a local market in northeastern Indian state of Manipur, local media reported.
The incident took place at around 6 pm local time in Imphal, Manipur’s capital city, some 2,300 kilometers east of New Delhi. The victims reportedly included two migrant workers.
Television images showed remains of a mangled motorcycle and slippers of victims strewn along a narrow street outside the market complex.
Kiren Rijiju, a junior minister, said he recently held consultations with state security agencies about the possibility of a series of bomb blasts in Manipur.
“I am worried that there may be a series of blasts in Manipur,” Rijiju told the Asian News International.
The injured were rushed to Institute of Medical Science Hospital where some of them were reportedly in critical condition.
No militant or separatist group has so far claimed responsibility for the blast which appears to have targeted migrant workers from northern Indian states.
Manipur is home to a number of separatist militant organizations that have targeted migrant workers in the past.
Wednesday’s explosion is the third such attack in the northeastern city of Imphal in the past three months.
On Dec. 21, 2014, three migrant workers from northern state of Uttar Pradesh, who worked as porters to carry luggage of tourists, were killed in a bus depot blast in Imphal. Also, two migrant workers were killed in the city’s market on Dec. 15, 2014.
