PTI | New Delhi
A high-intensity explosion ripped through a slow-moving car at a traffic signal near the Red Fort metro station on Monday evening, killing at least nine people and gutting several vehicles, officials said.
Twenty people were injured in the blast that took place on a busy evening when the area was milling with people. The injured were taken to the LNJP hospital, a few kilometres away.
No terror outfit has so far claimed responsibility for the attack. Delhi police have detained the car’s owner, identified as Md Salman, in Haryana’s Gurugram. Salman had sold his car to a person in Okhla, an official said, adding that the car was registered in his name and had a Haryana registration number plate.
Police are scanning CCTV footage to determine the route of the vehicle before the blast occurred. They are questioning locals and asking eyewitnesses to share information about any suspicious activity in the lead-up to the incident.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he has reviewed the situation with Union Home Minister Amit Shah and other officials. “Condolences to those who have lost their loved ones in the blast in Delhi earlier this evening. May the injured recover at the earliest,” PM Modi said on X.
Asked if it was a terror attack, Shah said, “It is difficult to say what caused the incident. Until the samples recovered from the blast site are analysed by forensic authorities and NSG, we can’t say anything. But we are not ruling out anything, and investigating the matter from all angles.”
Teams of Delhi Police, NIA, NSG and FSL have started the probe, he said, and hoped that the exact details of the blast would be unearthed soon. Shah also visited the blast site and said he will hold a high-level meeting with top officials on Tuesday to analyse the blast.
Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) has put all the Delhi-NCR installations under its security cover on “high alert”. Railway Protection Force (RPF), in close coordination with the Government Railway Police (GRP), is also on high alert with strict security arrangements at all stations in the Delhi-NCR region following the blast.
The Northern Railway said security arrangements at major stations such as New Delhi, Old Delhi, Anand Vihar, Hazrat Nizamuddin and Ghaziabad have been reviewed.
Delhi Police Commissioner Satish Golcha said the car, in which the blast took place, had some occupants.
According to a senior police officer, “The blast occurred in a moving Hyundai i20 car in which three people were sitting. We have not found any pellet or puncture in the body of the injured, which is unusual in a bomb blast. We are investigating all angles.”
A high alert has been sounded in Delhi, and security has been beefed up at city border points, with vehicle checking intensified. Panic gripped the area as fire billowed from burning cars following the explosion.
Videos shared by the Chandni Chowk Traders’ Association revealed the magnitude of the blast. A mangled body could be seen lying on a vehicle, while another clip showed a body on the road. Eyewitnesses said body parts could be seen scattered near the blast site.
Ten fire tenders were rushed to the spot as police cordoned off the area, the Delhi Fire Services said. The blaze caused by the blast was brought under control by 7.29 pm, officials said.
Golcha told reporters that Union Home Minister Amit Shah is being regularly briefed about the incident.
“There was a blast around 6.52 pm in a slow-moving vehicle at a traffic signal near the Red Fort metro station. There were passengers inside the vehicle. Other vehicles got affected. All agencies – Delhi Police, Forensic Science Laboratory, National Investigation Agency (NIA), National Security Guard (NSG) – have arrived and they are taking stock of the situation,” he said.
Mobile dump data are being gathered, and dossiers of suspected terrorists are being scanned.
According to a fire department official, six cars, two e-rickshaws and one autorickshaw were gutted in the fire. The blast was so powerful that it shattered the window panes of vehicles parked several metres away, and the sound was heard at ITO, a few kilometres from the site.
A person injured in the incident said the explosion appeared to have originated from a car. Another witness said, “I was at the gurdwara when I heard a loud sound. We were dumbfounded. A number of vehicles were completely damaged.”
