Dimapur, July 1 : The environment during the past few days in Dimapur has been one that could only trigger alarm, in one way or the other. Two suitcases lying outside a shop along the Church Road in the commercial shopping area of Dimapur on Friday, July 1, drove local residents, passersby and businesses into panic.
The alarm came easily considering also that entire Dimapur was reeling in confusion over the purported ban on businesses / closure of business following the demise of a leader of the NSCN (IM). Some shopkeepers were reportedly forced to close their shops on Friday.
Personnel of the Dimapur Bomb Detection and Disposal Squad were at the spot after receiving information of two suitcases that were spotted lying ‘suspiciously’ outside a shop for more than two hours. The personnel rushed to the scene at around 12:15 pm.
A closer examination of the two abandoned cases led to the conclusion by the squad that the two were empty. And it was–much to the relief of those around–found empty.
According to observers, the partially-damaged suitcases may have been dumped by shopkeepers. Here, it may be noted that shopkeepers and business outlets in the city are not exactly paragons of virtue when it comes to disposing waste. After-business hours often see clusters and heaps of waste outside shops.
Such objects, especially items that possess the potential to cause alarm and panic among citizens, should not be abandoned along public roads or spaces, or even at waste / garbage duping areas, one of the Dimapur police personnel at the spot remarked.
