Nongpoh, Nov 3: Residents of Nongpoh were thrown into a panic today after a large black bag believed to contain an explosive was discovered.
In the end, however, police found the bag to contain clothes. Why it had been abandoned on the roadside, though, is not known.
The fear of a bomb was a justified one as, in a similar incident, a bag was found in Umsning last month and that one did contain an improvised explosive device (IED) that had been planted by the outlawed Hynñiewtrep National Liberation Council (HNLC).
Following today’s discovery and following all protocols, the police cordoned off the area, prevented people from approaching the bag and restricted movement of vehicles by closing off one lane of the highway. The bomb squad was then sent from Shillong to examine the suspected explosive device.
