Car-bomb found inside Raj Bhawan premises in Manipur

NEW DELHI: The fears of things going from bad to worse in Manipur came true on Friday when subversive elements managed to park a car laden with explosives in the high security Raj Bhawan premises. A major disaster was averted when the police stumbled upon the car this afternoon.

Governor Gurbachan Jagat, a former police chief of Jammu and Kashmir, was in the Raj Bhawan when the bomb was found. ���Preliminary investigations reveal that moulded gelatin fitted to a mobile telephone handset was cleverly concealed in the back seat. The bomb has been detonated by experts,��� agency reports quoting Imphal police chief L Kailun said. ���This is definitely a terror act and we are on the job to find out more. Investigations are now on to ascertain how the car managed to enter Raj Bhawan,��� the police added.

The outlawed Kangleipak Communist Party (KCP), a rebel group fighting for an independent homeland for the Metei community of Manipur, claimed responsibility for planting the bomb. A KCP leader telephoned newspaper offices in Imphal to own up the incident. ���We have heard about KCP���s claim and the investigations are on,��� the police chief said.

There are 19 separatist groups active in Manipur, which borders Myanmar, with demands ranging from secession to greater autonomy. Insurgent violence has claimed about 10,000 lives in the past two decades.