Kangpokpi: Woman loses leg in suspected landmine blast while grazing cattle

A 41-year-old woman lost her left leg on Tuesday after a suspected explosive device went off beneath her while she was grazing cattle near Bazaghari village, under Irang Part-II in Manipur's Kangpokpi district.

The woman, Durga Devi Bhattarai, a mother of three, was out with the family's cattle in a field near the village sometime between 10 am and 11:45 am when she stepped on the device, which appears to have been buried in the ground, according to reports from India Today NE and Northeast Live.

She was critically injured and her left leg could not be saved. She was first taken to Kangpokpi Christian Hospital and then moved to the Regional Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) in Imphal for further treatment.

Her husband, Jeevan Bhattarai, who is secretary of Bazaghari village, said the blast happened while she was looking after the cattle in the fields around the village.

Third blast in days

Villagers say this was the third explosion in the area in four to five days. On Monday, a cow owned by another resident, Amar Bahadur Basnet, died after apparently setting off a similar device in the same area, the family said. Residents also reported hearing a blast a few days earlier, which they believe was triggered by a wild animal.

There has been no official word yet from police or the district administration on what kind of device exploded, who might have planted it, or whether a case has been registered.

Villagers seek sweep of fields

Many residents are now afraid to enter their farmland or take livestock out to graze. They have asked the authorities to register a case, investigate where the explosives came from, and send a Bomb Disposal Squad to search and clear the fields before anyone else is hurt.

Social worker Soshim Gurung visited the injured woman at RIMS. The Manipur Gorkha Welfare Union condemned the blast and said it would stand by the family.

NEInsider will update this story when police or the district administration respond.