Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma on Tuesday condemned the bomb attack by the banned outfit Hynniewtrep National Liberation Council (HNLC) behind a busy market area in Shillong leaving two persons injured.
An IED weighing 1 kg remotely went off at around 1:30 pm behind a busy market area in Laitumkhrah injuring a shopkeeper and a passer-by.
"Strongly condemn the IED blast reported in Laitumkhrah earlier this afternoon that has injured two citizens. Home Minister, @LahkmenR & officials of @MeghalayaPolice have apprised me on the matter and further investigation is being carried out," Sangma posted on his social media handles including Twitter.
A case has been registered and investigation is currently on to nab those involved in carrying out the blast.
The outfit reportedly has a base camp in Bangladesh and has been announced outlawed by the Ministry of Home Affairs in 2019 on grounds that "the outfit is yet to abjure violence". HNLC, is a breakaway faction of the earlier Hynniewtrep Achik Liberation Council (1993) and operates in the Khasi-Jaintia Hills region claiming to "free" people from alleged domination by "outsiders".
Last month the rebel outfit carried out an attack at a police reserve barracks in East Jaintia Hills district headquarters injuring a policeman and damaging buildings. Three persons were later arrested.