Eight people, mostly daily wage workers, were killed and more than five critically wounded when a powerful bomb exploded at Nagamapal area in Imphal West district of Manipur on Friday.
Security sources in Imphal told this newspaper that the explosion took place at about 8 pm near a construction site as part of a drive to beautify the capital.
The militants had planted the improvised explosive device (IED), which was triggered by a timed device, near a newly-constructed wall. The police said that most of the victims were non-Manipuri labourers engaged city by contractors. Among those critically wounded, the condition of at least five was stated to be critical. They have been shifted to the Regional Institute of Medical Sciences.