NEW DELHI: Four people including a candidate in upcoming state elections have been killed by a bomb while travelling in a restive northeast region of India, police said on Monday.

The blast tore through a car in Meghalaya state as Jonathone N Sangma, a 43-year-old candidate for a regional party, travelled to a campaign event in the East Garo Hills district.

“He was going to address a public meeting at a village. Three other persons in his car including a policeman and two civilians were killed,” Challang Ch.

Momin, a police official, said: “We suspect that the bomb blast was an improvised explosive device. We haven’t yet identified any suspects but we know that the last time he contested in 2013, he received threats from militants in the area.” India’s northeastern states, sandwiched between China, Bhutan, Nepal, Myan­mar and Bangladesh, have witnessed decades of unrest.

Published in Dawn, February 20th, 2018