new Delhi:
A powerful blast was reported in Delhi on Monday evening, as a high-intensity explosion ripped in a slow moving Hyundai i-29 car HR 26 CE 7674 after it halted at red light near the busy area of Red Fort metro station gate number one. The blast that took place at about 06.52 pm was so powerful that it has blown out about a dozen of passer-by into pieces and engulfed several vehicles nearby.
Eleven deaths have been reported due to the Delhi blast so far. 20 injured persons, seven still unidentified, are admitted to the LNJP hospital.
In the initial investigation, the Police said that the car, in which the blast took place, had three occupants, adding that they are also probing if it was a suicide bomber attack. A latest report said that the car was parked at 3.19 pm in Lal Qila parking and was taken out from the parking at 6.48 pm and started moving on the road and when it was halted at light signal, big explosion happed at 6.52 pm.
“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 blast. We are investigating all angles,” said a senior police officer.
Eyewitnesses said that the explosion was deafening and they were unable to hear anything clearly after several minutes. The loud blast was heard over a wide area up to ITO, covering around two kms, they said.
It shattered the window panes of vehicles parked several metres away and the glass panels of the Red Fort metro station.
The Delhi Police detained car owner Mohd. Salman late in the evening and questioned him about the vehicle, the officer said, adding that he sold it to a person in Okhla namely Devendra one-and-a-half years ago.
Later, the vehicle was sold to someone in Ambala and it was again sold to a man named Tariq in Pulwama, and police are tracing the people, the officer said.
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.
Delhi Police Commissioner Satish Golcha, who inspected the blast site, told reporters that 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.
The blast in Delhi occurred hours after the recovery of around 360 kg of suspected ammonium nitrate and a cache of arms and ammunition from a Kashmiri doctor’s rented accommodation in Faridabad, bordering Delhi. Eight people, including three doctors, were arrested and 2,900 kg of explosives seized with the uncovering of a “white collar” terror module involving the Jaish-e-Mohammed and Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind and spanning Kashmir, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, officials said.
Among those arrested following a 15-day operation were Kashmir’s Dr Ganaie in Faridabad and Dr Shaheen, a woman doctor from Lucknow, who was taken by air to Srinagar for custodial interrogation, officials said. An AK-47 rifle was found in her car.
The Haryana Police, in coordination with their Jammu and Kashmir counterparts, arrested Dr Muzammil Ganaie from Faridabad’s Dhauj area.
Police sources said that the Forensic Science Laboratory are inspecting if ammonium nitrate has been used in the blast which will confirm its link to the Faridabad module.
Further, no smell of RDX was detected at the spot and all angles are being probed thoroughly, they said. The bomb disposal team will also be checking the blast site for detonators and any bomb making material.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who visited the blast site and also met the victims at the LNJP Hospital, spoke to the Delhi police chief and the director of the Intelligence Bureau to take stock of the situation.
According to a list shared by the LNJP Hospital, a total of 20 people were injured in the incident, including two women and 18 men.
Of them, 12 are the residents of Delhi while eight from other states, including Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh.
The youngest injured victim has been identified as 21-year-old Shivam Jha from Usmanpur, Delhi.
The police said that eleven people are feared dead in the blast, adding that one mutilated body was recovered from the site.
Two deceased have been identified as 34-year-old Ashok Kumar from Amroha in UP and 35-year-old Amar Kataria from Delhi while rest are unidentified and aged between 28 and 58.
After the blast, Prime Minister Narendra Modi also took stock of the situation and expressed condolences over the deaths. No terror outfit has so far claimed responsibility for the attack.
The 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.
Mobile dump data is 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.
Meanwhile, the opposition parties, including the Congress, demanded a thorough and speedy investigation into the incident, and raised concerns over the security situation in the national capital.
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.” In the aftermath of the incident, the Chandni Chowk market will be closed on Tuesday, said market president Sanjay Bhargaw.
Bhargaw’s shop is about 800 metres away from the incident site. He said the entire building shook due to the blast. There was chaos in the market as people started running, he shared.
Police have sounded a high alert in Delhi. However, it has not been confirmed yet whether the Red Fort explosion was a bomb blast. Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra has also been put on high alert over the incident.
Seven fire tenders were rushed to the spot with police cordoning off the area, the Delhi Fire Services said.
Panic gripped the area as several vehicles were seen damaged at the spot following the loud explosion.
An injured eyewitness, who suffered a wound on his forehead, said the explosion appeared to have originated from a car, probably a Swift.
“There was a Swift car in front of my auto. There was something in that car that suddenly blasted,” he said.
Another witness said, “I was at the gurdwara when I heard a strong sound. We couldn’t make out what it was, it was that loud.”
“A number of vehicles nearby were completely damaged,” he added. There was chaos in the market as people started running, he shared.
11 KILLED IN DELHI CAR BLAST
