Shillong, Aug 10: An IED blast on Tuesday afternoon rocked the Laitumkhrah locality of Shillong in which two persons sustained injuries.

The blast occurred occured at around 1.30 PM behind the Laitumkhrah market.

Eye witnesses said one female tea seller was injured in the blast. Meanwhile,  cynthia, the sister of the injured woman, said she was in a state of shock.

Narrating about the incident she said they both thought it was either a transformer blast, since their shop is adjacent to a transformer, or an LPG cylinder. But when they checked, both were not the cause.

“My sister and I had come to the shop – a tea stall – to clean since we were planning to open the shop tomorrow. Suddenly the explosion happened. I called out for my sister because the room was filled with smoke. She was not able to get out so I managed to pull her out,” narrated Cynthia.

She added that her sister is currently admitted at Nazareth hospital and suffered some cuts but is stable at the moment.

Local residents said the blast was so loud that everyone heard it. The blast also resulted in damage to window panes of nearby shops and houses.

Security beefed up in Laitumkhrah 

Local MLA, Ampareen Lyngdoh was quick to rush to the spot and wanted to ensure that every resident was calm. Lyngdoh said that right now the security has beefed up and officials and concerned department are working to ascertain the cause of the blast.

“The first thing we did was calm down since it was a big blast. I came to the location to find out and get a first hand information; it looks like it is not an electronic blast. Likely it is a blast of some explosion and I can’t make a comment; only officials can,” said Lyngdoh.

Local headman (Rangbah Shnong) Andrew Jyrwa noted that such an incident has never happened in the past. Jyrwa said he will request the district administration to beef up the security especially now since this incident has occurred before Independence Day.

“We condemn this kind of act or an attempt to scare people or create panic. I hope there is no secondary device and lives should not be jeopardized at this moment,” said Jyrwa.

HNLC claims responsibility 

Meanwhile, as police are yet to make a statement, Hynniewtrep National Liberation Council (HNLC), a banned militant outfit of Meghalaya, has claimed responsibility.

According to a Facebook post of Sainkupar Nongtraw, General Secretary of HNLC, he stated, “Once again HNLC once again has taken responsibility of the explosion of IED blast at Laitumkhrah.”

The Crime Scene Unit (CSU), Fire Department is currently at the site and has cordoned off the area.