NEW DELHI, FEB 19 (DNA) – 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 Monday.

The blast tore through a car in Meghalaya state late Sunday 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, deputy superintendent of Meghalaya police, told.

“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 remote northeastern states, sandwiched between China, Bhutan, Nepal, Myanmar and Bangladesh, have witnessed decades of unrest.

The remote states, connected to the rest of India by a narrow strip of land, are home to dozens of tribal groups and small guerrilla armies demanding greater autonomy and resisting central rule.