The Manipur government has deployed special police commandos in Ukhrul district after Monday’s bomb blast that injured six people. As many as 70 commandos from Imphal West and Imphal East reached Ukhrul town late on Tuesday, police said. “As part of gathering information about the blast, the police commando team is doing routine patrolling in strategic areas,” said a police officer. Four of the six injured are from Bihar: Mangal Mahato (55), Sanjay Kumar Prashad (30), Satynarayan Gupta (36) and Neeraj Kumar 26). The remaining two are from Kangpokpi district of Manipur—Arjun Dhan (26) and Sanjay Uprety (27). Mangal Mahato and Sanjay Kumar Prashad were referred to the Jawaharlal Nehru Institute of Medical Sciences in Imphal on Monday and Arjun Dhan was admitted to the same hospital on Tuesday. Neeraj Kumar has been discharged from the Leishiphung Christian Hospital. Most of the injured are shopkeepers or labourers. Monday’s bomb blast is the fourth to occur within Ukhrul town in less than four months. The bomb exploded from under a handcart at a spot between Phungreitang and Viewland around 6.26pm, according to police. While the motive behind the bomb blast is yet to be known, police speculate that it could be related to an extortion threat. The previous blast occurred on March 21, when a bomb of lower intensity exploded inside the mini-secretariat complex at Hamleikhong. However, no casualty was reported in the incident.
