IMPHAL, January 2: A Chinese made hand grenade was found at the entrance of local vernacular Naharolgi Thoudang at Sega Road today at about 5.30 am.
The explosive was kept inside a box which was tied with a ribbon resembling a present. The parcel was found at the ground floor entrance stairway by morning staffs of the daily.
After the arrival of the police bomb squad, the explosive was later disarmed. A threat note was also found inside the parcel box which read, “Editor, this is the last warning, next is blast”, the note was addressed by one s/s commander Henthoiba Mangang of the KCP (MC) Lanchen Chanu group.
The bomb threat has been condemned by the All Manipur Working Journalists’ Union as an intimidation to the independent working of the media. A joint emergency meeting attended by editors and AMWJU standing committee members has resolved to urge the state home department to provide adequate security measures to the media houses by December 3 failing which state government news will be boycotted from the next day onward.
A statement by the president of the scribes’ body A Mobi said that the Chief Minister O Ibobi was intimated by editors and AMWJU members on December 8 last to provide security arrangements near the peripheral areas of media houses which has not been taken up as of yet. The editors also resolved to leave the editorials blank in condemnation of the threat.