Imphal: Security forces on Saturday detonated a World War II vintage bomb, found during digging, in eastern Manipur.

According to Defence spokesman Lt Col A.S. Walia, the bomb was recovered by locals during digging work in Kamjong district along the Indo-Myanmar border.

Upon receipt of the information, security forces, with the assistance of local police, safely shifted the bomb away from the populated area for disposal, and a team of the army bomb disposal unit carried out the safe disposal of 250 lbs bomb using the ‘Violent Technique’, he said.

This mechanism involved careful and technical placement of pre-calculated explosives and initiating controlled detonation to destroy the bomb, Walia said.

Before disposing off the powerful bomb, a joint team of Manipur Police and paramilitary forces ensured the safe evacuation of 250 residents and their various livestock and domestic animals residing within 2 km radius of the explosion site, said the defence PRO.

The destruction of the bomb was successfully done without any untoward incident due to explosion, he said.

Northeastern India was the site of several fierce battles in World War II as Japanese forces reached Manipur and Nagaland when they invaded British India.