SRINAGAR: A 45 kg artillery shell dating back to the Second World War was safely neutralised in Manipur’s Thoubal district this week after resurfacing more than eight decades since it was first fired, according to multiple media reports.
The ordnance was discovered on 28 August when soil unloaded from a tipper truck at Khangabok Part-3 Makha Leikai exposed the shell. The earth had been excavated from the Heirok riverbank for domestic use, sparking panic among locals on sighting the bomb.
Police swiftly cordoned off the site and registered a case at Thoubal police station. The Bomb Disposal Squad later shifted the shell to Langathel Chingol, where it was destroyed in a controlled operation. “It was a powerful shell that could have caused devastation. Timely detection prevented a possible tragedy,” a police officer said, as reported by Hindustan Times.
Historians note that such discoveries are reminders of Manipur’s pivotal role in the Asia-Pacific theatre of World War II, particularly the Battle of Imphal in 1944. “Manipur is a living museum of the Second World War,” an Imphal-based historian remarked.
Last month, similar relics including ammunition cases, grenades, and metal boxes were unearthed in Imphal West. Authorities have once again urged residents not to tamper with suspicious metallic objects, but to mark the site and alert police immediately.
