Correspondent
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has taken over investigation into a bomb blast in this state capital of Meghalaya that took place on January 30, an official said on Tuesday.
“We will be investigating the improvised explosive device (IED) blast at Police Bazaar. We have taken over the investigation from the state police,” the NIA official said.
The explosion did not cause any risk to life as the area was under lockdown at the time of the blast.
The NIA has registered a case on March 4 into the IED blast case, which the outlawed Hynniewtrep National Liberation Council (HNLC) has claimed responsibility for.
The registration of the case by the NIA is significant after the Meghalaya government has accepted the HNLC’s offer to hold “unconditional peace talks”.
Meghalaya police had arrested nine persons, including a 17-year-old boy, who claimed to be the “area commander of Shillong region” and confessed to have triggered the blast
The accused also claimed that he had carried out the IED blast at Laitumkhrah market and for planting the IED bomb infront of the ruling National People’s Party (NPP) office.
Initially, the NIA sleuths had interrogated the five arrested persons to establish if they are also involved in the IED explosion in the residential quarters of Star Cement Meghalaya Ltd at Lumshnong.
The NIA is probing the IED blast that rocked the residential quarters of Star Cement Meghalaya Ltd at Lumshnong in East Jaintia Hills in December 2020.
The agency is empowered to deal with the investigation of terror related crimes across states without special permission from the state government.
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