9 killed, 20 hurt as powerful car blast rocks Capital

Nine persons were killed and 20 others injured as a high-intensity explosion ripped through a slow-moving car at a traffic signal outside the Red Fort metro station on Monday evening. The police are learnt to have detained a suspect, but were yet to reveal whether it was a terror attack.

The nature of the blast, which occurred hours after over 2,900 kg of material used to prepare explosives was seized in neighbouring Faridabad, was being ascertained at the time of filing the report. Sources said the police were suspecting that explosives were being transported in the car.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah said investigators were keeping all options open while probing the blast, which took place in a Hyundai i20 car at 6.55 pm during peak rush hour. Three persons were inside the vehicle, the police said. The explosion damaged three to four other vehicles and injured pedestrians and people travelling in autorickshaws.

Asked whether it was a terrorist attack, Shah, who met some of the injured at the LNJP hospital, said, “It is difficult to say what caused the blast. Until the samples recovered from the blast site are analysed by forensics and NSG, we can’t say anything. But we are not ruling out anything and investigating all angles.” Teams of the Delhi Police, NIA, NSG and forensics have started the probe, he said and hoped that the exact details of the blast would be unearthed soon.

In case the blast turns out to be a terror attack, it would be the first such incident in Delhi since the Narendra Modi-led NDA government came to power in 2014.

Fifteen persons were killed in a terror attack at the Delhi High Court on September 7, 2011. Harkat-ul-Jihad al-Islami had claimed responsibility for the attack, which was believed to have been carried out with the backing of Indian Mujahideen.

As the Haryana-registered i20 car registration went up in flames, several vehicles in its proximity caught fire. The intensity of the blast was such that the Red Fort metro station’s glass panels were shattered, said officials.

Meanwhile, high alert has been sounded in the Delhi-NCR region and several other parts of the country, including Bihar, which is set to vote in the second and final round of Assembly elections tomorrow.

The Delhi Fire Department received a call related to the incident at 6.55 pm and around eight fire tenders were sent to the spot. They controlled the fire from the damaged vehicles on reaching the spot while the injured were taken to the nearby Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan (LNJP) hospital, sources said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi took stock of the situation in a conversation with Shah and issued necessary directions to all concerned. “Condolences to those who have lost their loved ones in the blast. May the injured recover at the earliest. Those affected are being assisted by authorities,” said the PM.

In a televised address later, the Union Home Minister said, “Around 7 pm, a blast occurred in a Hyundai i20 car at the Subhash Marg traffic signal near the Red Fort in Delhi. The blast injured some pedestrians and damaged some vehicles. Preliminary reports indicate that some people have lost their lives.”

Shah said the NSG and NIA teams, along with the FSL, had now begun a thorough investigation. “Orders have been given to examine all nearby CCTV cameras. I have also spoken to the Delhi Police Commissioner and the Special Branch in-charge. We are exploring all possibilities and will conduct a thorough investigation, taking all possibilities into account. All options will be investigated immediately and we will present the results to the public,” he said.