SHILLONG, `Nov 14 - The Meghalaya police today said that there is �a slim possibility� that RDX was used in the IED that exploded here on Thursday.
The blast was triggered in a bush near the Jeevan Ram Goenka Memorial Hospital at Jhalupara around 10.30 pm on Thursday. The impact of the blast created a crater and partially damaged two vehicles and a road roller parked nearby.
As the blast occurred during Diwali, there was not much suspicion. Local residents, however, later claimed that the explosion jolted the nearby houses. The incident would not have been taken seriously had the banned Hynniewtrep National Liberation Council (HNLC) not claimed responsibility for the blast.
The HNLC, through a Facebook post, claimed responsibility for the �RDX blast� and said it did so because of the interference of non-tribals in the affairs of �Hynniewtrep people� � or the local tribals.
Speaking to this newspaper, Superintendent of Police, East Khasi Hills, M Kharkrang said that the possibility of RDX being used in the explosion is rather slim.
�But investigation is on and we would be able to say more precisely after the probe is over,� he added.
�We are not disregarding any claim; but we are also trying to find out if other groups were involved in the incident,� Kharkrang added.
Meanwhile, forensic experts have collected evidence from the blast site and are now trying to ascertain how the blast had been triggered.
Apart from this, another explosive was recovered from under a car at Rangsakona village under the Byrnihat police outpost, Ri-bhoi district, on Friday.
The bomb was later defused by a bomb disposal squad.
The bomb was detected after the owner of the car informed police about an extortion note he found inside the car. The note was allegedly served by the Garo National Liberation Army (GNLA).
