One person was killed and four others were injured in a bomb blast in Imphal, the capital city of Manipur, Wednesday.
An eyewitness told IBTimes over phone from Imphal that the bomb exploded at around 11 am at Palace Compound where the Manipur Sangai Tourism Festival was going on.
Police identified the deceased as Muhammad Kora (55), a rickshaw puller. Kora, who was seriously injured in the blast, was taken to Jawaharlal Nehru Hospital where he succumbed to his injuries.
The four injured persons were admitted to the Regional Institute of Medical Sciences, Imphal.
The Manipur state police cordoned off the blast site and conducted a search operation.
Police suspected that a few unidentified persons, who gave Rs 20 to Kora to take them to the Palace Compound, were responsible for the blast. However, it was not known which outfit was responsible for the blast. Police suspected that one of the militant groups in Manipur - Kangleipak Communist Party - was behind the blast.
The blast happened three days before the visit of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and United Progressive Alliance chairperson Sonia Gandhi to the state.
Usually, militant groups in Manipur boycott the official visits of head of the offices in the state. State police have beefed up security ahead of Manmohan and Sonia's visit.
