IMPHAL: Poll-bound Manipur has witnessed stepped-up violence at different places in Imphal East district as a 44-year-old man was injured in a gun attack at Keirao constituency on Wednesday night, while a bomb exploded near the residential gate of Khurai’s NPP candidate Laitonjam Jayananda on Thursday morning.
Manipur will vote on February 28 and March 5 to elect 60 legislators. The results will be declared on March 10. The valley districts that house 40 seats have witnessed different forms of sporadic violent incidents since the last few weeks, even as Assam Rifles on Wednesday seized six IEDs and other explosive materials in Manipur’s Moreh town bordering Myanmar.
Md Sahabuddin of Kyamgei area in Keirao constituency along with three of his relatives were on his way home in a car on Wednesday night around 9 when some supporters of the NPP candidate stopped them, accusing them of distributing money on behalf of the seat’s BJP candidate, a family member said.
Rejecting the charge, the four responded that they were returning home after attending a patient at the hospital, he said, adding that before long, the NPP workers began hitting the car. After they reached home, another group of people barged into their residences and one of them whipped out a gun and shot at Sahabuddin’s left thigh before fleeing, he said, adding that some of their family members were also thrashed by the attackers.
Police arrived and rushed Sahabuddin to a hospital here. The policemen, who found an empty case of a 9mm bullet near his residence, registered a case. Some local people were also picked up for verification.
Meanwhile, tension gripped the Khurai Konsam Leikai area after a bomb exploded near the residential gate of Jayananda on Thursday around 3 am.
Earlier, unknown persons hurled bombs at two separate camps of the candidate, locals said. Angry local women protested against the bomb attack on Thursday.
In yet another incident, a BJP worker was beaten by unidentified men at Noney district’s Longmai area on Wednesday .
