Militants hurl powerful grenades at two officials' houses in Manipur

Unidentified militants hurled powerful grenades at the residence of two Manipur government officials but the grenades failed to explode, official reports said here today.

Reports said the militants lobbed a powerful grenade at the house of joint director of municipal administration housing and urban development (MAHUD) Bhaktaraj Singh late last evening at Wahengbam Leikai area near here in Imphal West district.

The official and his family members were not present at the house at the time of the incident, the reports said. 

The motive behind the crime was unknown. Monetary demand
by the militants could be one of the reasons, the reports said.

In another incident late last night, militants also hurled a powerful grenade at the house of Bimola Devi, private assistant to  state health minister Ph Parijat, at her house at Nongpok Kakching in Imphal East district but it failed to explode.

The militants of a particular militant outfit have been attacking or kidnapping persons close to Parijat in the past few weeks because the minister refused to fulfill demands of the outfit which included appointment of persons recommended by the militants in his department and giving contract works to the militants in the health department.