Grenade hurled at temple in Meghalaya

Shillong, Oct 30 (IANS) Suspected Garo National Liberation Army (GNLA) rebels hurled a grenade at a Durga temple in Meghalaya Saturday night, while some grenades were found at a school building in the state capital, an official said Saturday.

Suspected GNLA rebels lobbed a Chinese-made grenade at the temple in Warima market area in Williamnagar, the district headquarters of East Garo Hills district.

'The floor has been partially damaged and walls have blackened due to the explosion but the idols inside the temple are intact,' Pravin Bakshi, the district deputy commissioner, told IANS.

From preliminary investigations, Bakshi said it appeared to be the handiwork of the GNLA.

'The police are investigating the incident and a hunt is on nab those behind the blast,' he said.

Grenades were found at the Shillong Vidyalaya School in Madan Laban area of the capital.

The GNLA, headed by police officer-turned-rogue Champion R. Sangma, who is fighting for a sovereign Garoland in western Meghalaya, is believed to have links with the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (Isak-Muivah), the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) and the National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB).