Two Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) personnel sustained splinter injuries in an improvised explosive device (IED) blast in Manipur on Sunday, which escalated tension in the poll-bound state. The blast took place around 8 pm near Wangoo Tera police station range which is around 45 km from Manipur’s capital Imphal. Constables Girija Shankar and Gaurav Rai, both from ITBP’s 49 Battalion, suffered injuries in the blast which occurred when they were conducting an area domination patrol along with his colleagues and Manipur Police personnel, said the ITBP in a statement.
The ITBP personnel, who are now stated to be out of danger, were part of the ‘E’ company of the 610 ITBP election battalion deployed for poll duties in Manipur. “An IED blast incident took place at about 8 pm near Wangootera Police Station (around 45 km from Imphal) in which ITBP constable Girija Shankar and Constable Gaurav Ray got injured. The ITBP personnel belong to ITBP’s 49 Battalion which is engaged in election duty in Manipur,” added the ITBP in the statement.
“Both the injured ITBP personnel are stated to be out of danger and referred to Siga hospital at Imphal from Raj Medicity hospital in the city. Some splinters are yet to be removed from the bodies of the injured personnel. Vitals are normal and the condition is stable,” said the ITBP in the statement. It is learnt that an NPP candidate’s father was shot at by unidentified people in poll-bound Manipur’s Imphal East district prior to the blast, which has left security agencies in a tizzy. Assembly elections in the northeastern state will be held in two phases on February 28 and March 5. The counting of votes in the state is scheduled on March 10.
