IMPHAL, Jan 3 � Unidentified persons claiming to be members of Kangleipak Communist Party-Lanchen Chanu delivered a hand grenade at the office of a local daily in Manipur for not publishing the group�s statement on Monday.
Sources said the Chinese made hand grenade was found inside a small gift package addressed by one commander Henthoiba Mangang of the KCP (MC) Lanchen Chanu group to Editor saying �this is the last warning, next is the blast�. The package was kept near the office staircase of the local vernacular Naharolgi Thoudang at Airport road here around 5.30 am.
Police recovered the grenade and defused it. Condemning the incident, All Manipur Working Journalists� Union (AMWJU) in an emergency meeting here on Monday took serious note of the fact that the Government of Manipur has failed to provide a secure environment to media persons and media houses in spite of a delegation of Editors calling on the Chief Minister on December 8 last year and appealing for concrete measures to allay apprehensions.
As decided during AMWJU meet, local dailies on Tuesday left their editorial blank to protest the planting of a bomb at the office of Naharolgi Thoudang.
It may be mentioned here that in 2007, a gift-wrapped Nokia mobile handset package containing a grenade and marked to the Editor of The Sangai Express, the largest selling English daily in Manipur, was delivered to the the newspaper office. The reason for the �gift�? One of two factions of an armed group in the State wanted the statement of the other party dropped from publication.
