A bomb in the northeastern Indian state of Manipur on Wednesday killed a man suspected of planting the explosives, police said, days ahead of a visit by the prime minister.
The blast detonated at the entrance to a festival event in Imphal, the capital city of remote Manipur state, senior police official A. Singh told AFP by telephone.
“We suspect the person who died is the one who carried the bomb concealed in a sack to plant at the festival,” Singh said, adding the attack was believed to be linked to insurgent and separatist groups active in the region.
Manipur, which borders on Myanmar, has been cut off for months by a road blockade organised by rival tribal groups that has prevented many essential supplies from reaching local residents.
Two national highways linking Manipur with the rest of India have been effectively blocked since early August, choking the supply of many commodities and leaving shoppers at the mercy of black marketeers.
The blockade was “temporarily” lifted on Tuesday by the United Naga Council (UNC) in an apparent attempt to secure a meeting with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh during his visit on Saturday.
Manipur, which has long been affected by insurgent violence, is home to dozens of tribal groups and small guerrilla armies that resist rule from New Delhi and often compete against each other.