Delhi blast was caused by panic; bomb was not fully developed: MHA sources

In the first comments on the Red Fort car blast that killed 12 people and injured over 20 the government has said the blast was a panic reaction to the Faridabad raids that recovered thousands of kg of RDX and a major attack has been averted.

"The bomb was premature and not fully developed, thus limiting the impact. The explosion did not create a crater, and no shrapnel or projectiles were found. A major attack has been averted, credited to ‘pan-India alertness and coordinated crackdown’ on suspect modules," top Home Ministry sources said on Tuesday after Union Home Minister Amit Shah chaired two security review meetings and handed over the case to the NIA.

MHA officials said the raids by security agencies across multiple locations in Delhi-NCR and Pulwama, recovering significant quantities of explosives, are believed to have led the suspect to act hastily under mounting pressure.

"Earlier, during raids carried out on November 9 and 10, in Faridabad, Haryana, almost 3,000 kg of explosives, along with detonators, timers and other bomb making material were caught and confiscated.

“The explosion was caused by panic and desperation due to the raids carried out by the security agencies to nab them," said the official sources linking the Delhi blast to the arrest of three J-K doctors and recovery of large quantities of RDX from Faridabad.

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