IMPHAL: A grenade attack near the residence of Khemchand Yumnam, Manipur’s Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Minister, in Imphal West district, injured two people, including one security personnel. The incident transpired at Yumnam Leikai at approximately 10 pm on Saturday, according to security agencies.
A Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel, Dinesh Chandra Das from West Bengal, sustained splinter injuries to his hand, while, a woman at the scene also received splinter injuries on her right foot.
Two individuals, who approached the minister’s residence on a motorcycle, were reported to have launched the grenade, the local press reported. Although the explosive landed several meters from the main gate of Yumnam’s residence, its detonation resulted in injuries to two individuals nearby.
Manipur’s Chief Minister, N Biren Singh, visited the attack site, expressing his strong condemnation of the act.
This incident follows a concerning pattern of security threats faced by political figures in the state amidst the ongoing sectarian threat. Notably, on September 29, protestors mounted an aggressive attempt to breach the residence of L Susindro, a BJP MLA who holds portfolios for Physical Health Engineering and Consumer Affairs, located in Imphal East district.
This attack resulted in the deployment of state police and the Rapid Action Force (RAF) who fired tear gas canisters and smoke grenades to scatter the advancing mob.
Remarkably, this is the second incident within a few months where L Susindro found himself targeted. In a past confrontation in June, an angered mob set his private storage facility in Chingarel Tezpur ablaze.
Mobs have been reported to defy curfew orders, targeting the properties of state officials. On September 28, amidst a curfew imposed to quell the then ongoing students protest in the Imphal valley, security personnel during protests were met with mobs attacking the Chief Minister’s ancestral home in Heingang, Imphal East, and the residence of another BJP legislator, Kebi Devi.
