GAUHATI: A crude bomb exploded in a marketplace in northeast India injuring five people, police said.

A police official in the Manipur state capital of Imphal said the homemade bomb was triggered by remote control on Tuesday morning when people were setting up their stalls before the market opened.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity in accordance with policy.

Four of the injured are being treated in a hospital.

No one has claimed responsibility for the attack.

At least 17 separatist groups are active in Manipur state and often stage hit-and-run attacks.

The rebels claim the local population is ignored by the federal government in New Delhi.

Most locals are ethnically closer to groups in Myanmar and China than to the rest of India.