Two bombs in reply to Jamir's I-Day speech

Three incidents of violence marked the golden jubilee celebrations of Independence in Nagaland on Friday.

A hand grenade was exploded about half-a-km from the ground where Chief Minister S C Jamir was hoisting the tricolour on Friday morning. The grenade went off just three minutes after Jamir's speech ended. No one was hurt, official sources said.

Earlier, a powerful bomb went off near the Nagaland State Transport office, damaging a portion of the building.

A Central Reserve Police Force party was ambushed by unidentified gunmen near Zubza, about 20 kms from Kohima. No one was hurt in the resulting exchange of fire, the sources said.

On Thursday, there was an undeclared general strike in Kohima and Dimapur towns where most shops downed shutters. Earlier, the ballistic experts of the army defused a bomb at the PWD junction at Kohima on Thursday morning.

There were no reports of untoward incidents from other parts of the state, the sources said.