The Manipur police recovered a powerful, improvised explosive device attached to a large number of detonators stuffed in a Maruti 800 from the Manipur Raj Bhawan premises in Imphal at around 1 pm on Friday, sending the security forces into a tizzy.
A police source said the car was immediately taken out of Raj Bhawan and explosives experts were called in to defuse the bomb. The car bore the registration no MN01W5048, he added.
No one has been arrested so far.
The police has cordoned off the area in and around Raj Bhawan, and is looking for the driver or the owner of the car.
The police has not ruled out the involvement of insurgents in the incident, though a detailed investigation is being launched to inquire into the lapse.
A Raj Bhawan source informed that the explosives-laden car was stationed not too far from the office of Raj Bhawan.
Manipur Governor Gurbachan Jagat was in station on Friday when the incident occurred.