Imphal, June 15: The employees of Ketawn, an embroidery centre in Yumnam Leikai, were taken by surprise today when they found a Chinese hand grenade at their workshed.

They spotted it when they turned up for duty in the morning and immediately informed police.

Later in the day, Imphal West police safely exploded the hand grenade. Though a probe has been initiated, the police are groping for leads because nobody was seen throwing the grenade.

About 90 employees, mostly women, including trainees, work at the centre. They share the police’s suspicion that the grenade was hurled either last night or early this morning to intimidate the owner of the embroidery centre.

Its proprietor Yumnam Sorojini Devi, 55, told the police that a few days back some unknown youths who claimed to be cadres of the Kangleipak Communist Party, a militant outfit, had asked her to shell out Rs 5 lakh. However, neither she nor the police could link today’s finding of the grenade to the militants’ demand.

Rebels held

Two cadres of the Kuki Revolutionary Army (KRA) were apprehended and 200 assorted ammunition seized during a frisking operation by the India Reserve Battalion at Koirengei on an Imphal-bound bus this morning. The bus was coming from Kangpokpi in Senapati district. The incident took place along the Imphal-Kohima highway in Imphal West district.

Lengoten Hungsing, 16, of Senapati district and Chingkhochon Hungsing, 18, of Wokha in Nagaland were handed over to the Heingang police station.

The IRB personnel suspected that the duo were coming to supply ammunition to KRA cadres who were locked in a four-day-long gun battle with Kuki National Army militants in Saikul subdivision of Senapati district. Three militants were reportedly killed in recent clashes, forcing more than 600 villagers flee their homes. In the past two days, however, there has been no report of clashes.

The police, however, are not sure about the motive of the arrested duo. Interroga-tions were on, the police said.