Shillong: An outlawed militant organisation on Friday claimed responsibility for the RDX blast in the state capital of Meghalaya.
It said the blast was a warning to Nepalese and other non-tribals of Shillong trying to interfere in the affairs of Hynniewtrep.
Though no one was injured in the blast near Jeevan Ram Goenka Memorial Hospital at Them Mawbah on Thursday night, two vehicles and a road roller parked nearby were partially damaged.
“We purposely planted the RDX in such a location at late night hours in order to avoid human casualties. Our objective was to make the people realise that if we had planted the RDX at Khyndailad (downtown Shillong) during working hours, human casualties would have been far more than expected,” Hynniewtrep National Liberation Council (HNLC) spokesman Sainkupar Nongtraw said.
“But as an organisation, we believe in human rights and unnecessarily spilling blood of innocents is against our working policies,” he said.
Meghalaya Director General of Police Rajiv Metha told IANS that the bomb disposal squad had collected material from the blast site.
“Squad members and forensic experts are still examining to ascertain whether it was an IED (improvised explosive device). We cannot make comments as investigations are on,” he said.
“They (HNLC) can make claims; anyone can make claims, but let us wait for investigations to be completed,” Metha said.
The HNLC, which indulges in hit-and-run operations from its hideout in Bangladesh, has been demanding a sovereign Khasi homeland in Meghalaya.