|
| People at Nagarbera village of Assam mourn the labourers killed in the Manipur blast on Saturday. (PTI) |
Imphal, Sept. 16:
Manipur deputy chief minister Gaikhangam today said the state government
was ready to hand over the Imphal blast case to the CBI, if necessary.
Reacting to an All India United
Democratic Front (AIUDF) demand on these lines, Gaikhangam, who is also
the state home minister, said if needed, the state government would not
hesitate to hand over the case to the central agency.
Suspected militants hurled a Chinese grenade into a shed housing migrant labourers engaged in covering the Naga nullah
at Nagamapal on Friday night, killing five on the spot. Four died later
that night. The condition of one of the 12 labourers wounded in the
blast is still critical.
Though no militant
group has claimed responsibility for the blast till date, the National
Investigation Agency (NIA) has started probing the case.
AIUDF chief
Badruddin Ajmal had written to Union home minister Sushil Kumar Shinde
demanding a CBI probe into the attack, stating that it appeared to be
the handiwork of some militant group.
Ajmal also charged
the Manipur government with having failed to ensure the safety of
migrant workers in the state. He said this was not the first such
incident, as migrant workers had been killed in Manipur in the past too.
The AIUDF also felt that the ex gratia announced by the state government — Rs 4 lakh — was not enough.
Gaikhangam said
the Manipur government and police were doing everything to nab those
responsible for the attack and also protect the migrant labourers in the
state. He said migrants staying and working in vulnerable areas were
being sheltered in a dharamshala here and armed guards had been deployed
at major projects sites employing a large number of migrants.
“The chief
minister is away in New Delhi on important official work. We will
discuss the matter further when he returns and will do whatever
necessary to book the culprits,” he said.
The attack had
evoked strong reactions from several political parties, including the
Opposition Manipur Peoples Party, Trinamul and the state unit of BJP,
all demanding arrest of the culprits.
Earlier,
addressing the 40th foundation day of All Manipur Working Journalists’
Union here, Gaikhangam said such killings would not benefit anyone,
including those responsible for it, and those behind the attack should
come to their senses.
