Blast in Manipur village, no injuries

Imphal, Dec 4 : Militants exploded a remote-controlled bomb here on Monday, police said. No one was injured.

The blast in Laingam village near Konthoujam Lamkhai in Imphal west district comes a day after the extension of the Disturbed Areas Act for one year under which the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958 is imposed in Manipur.

Police sources said that the bomb was a powerful one. No insurgent group has claimed responsibility for it.

Police said that soon after the explosion, police and central forces rushed at Laingam village for launching a combing operation. However there was no arrest.

Chief minister N. Biren Singh, in charge of the Home Department, said: "Persons who do not want to see development in Manipur are resorting to violence."

Patsoi police station has registered a case.

People's Liberation Army, the military wing of the Revolutionary People's Front, had attacked a column of 31 Assam Rifles on Saturday by exploding three remote controlled bombs and then opening fire in the border district of Kamjong.

Though heavy exchange of fire continued for some minutes there was no casualty among the Assam Rifles troopers.

A few days earlier, one shop was bombed in the heart of the Imphal city. Owner of the shop, Ajit Patni, says that he did not get any extortion notice from the militants.