Blast near Red Fort leaves several people dead
Cars gutted, several injured as panic grips entire area
New Delhi: A high-intensity explosion ripped through a car parked near the Red Fort metro station on Monday evening, gutting several vehicles and killing around eight people, officials said.
Twenty-four 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.
Videos shared by the Chandni Chowk Traders’ Association showed the magnitude of the blast. A body could be seen lying on a vehicle. Another video showed a body lying on the road. Eyewitnesses said body parts could be seen scattered near the blast site.
A high alert has been sounded in Delhi. Ten fire tenders were rushed to the spot with police cordoning off the area, the Delhi Fire Services said. The fire, officials said, was brought under control by 7.29 pm.
“Six cars, two erickshaws and one autorickshaw were gutted in the fire,” said a fire department official.
A team of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) reached the spot.
The blast was so powerful that it shattered the windows of vehicles parked several metres away. The sound was heard at ITO a few kilometres away.
“The blast occurred in a car parked near Red Fort metro station gate number 1. The intensity was quite high. Injuries are feared,” said a senior official of Delhi Fire Service.
Visuals of the incident showed plumes of fire billowing from the burning cars.
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.
Sanjay Bhargaw, president of the Chandni Chowk Traders Association, whose shop is about 800 metres away from the incident site, said the entire building shook due to the blast.
There was chaos in the market as people started running, he shared.
The blast came 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 nearby Faridabad
Haryana Police, in coordination with their Jammu and Kashmir counterparts, arrested Dr Muzammil Ganaie from Faridabad’s Dhauj area recovered explosive materials, weapons, and timers from his rented house.
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.
Eyewitnesses said body parts scattered everywhere, sky turned red
Mangled bodies lying on vehicles and road, pieces of flesh scattered on the streets and flames rising up to the sky. Witnesses recalled in graphic detail the aftermath of a high-intensity explosion that ripped through a slow-moving car close to the Red Fort metro station here on Monday.
While I was standing and talking to someone, a body part… a hand, with the man’s shirt still on it, fell right behind me, Amit Mudgal (36) told PTI.
Recalling the terrifying moments following the explosion, he said, “About 20 minutes ago, the situation was unbelievable. There was a huge blast, and within seconds, the sky was covered in red smoke,” he said.
“Everyone was screaming and running for cover,” Mudgal recalled.
He said the impact was so severe that human remains were scattered across the street. “As I moved towards the fire, I helped several people get into ambulances.”
An injured eyewitness, who had a wound on his forehead, said the explosion appeared to have originated from a car parked nearby.
“I am an auto rickshaw driver. There was a car in front of my auto, most probably a Maruti Swift. I don’t know how it happened, but something in that car suddenly blasted,” he said.
A high-intensity explosion ripped through a car near the Red Fort metro station on Monday evening, gutting several vehicles and killing at least eight people, officials said.
Twenty-four 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.
Eyewitnesses said several vehicles were destroyed and glass panes of shops and even those at the nearby metro station were shattered.
“I was at the gurdwara when I heard a strong sound. We couldn’t make out what it was, it was that loud,” said another resident.
A shopkeeper said the tremors were powerful enough to shake entire buildings. “I had come here to buy something when I heard a huge blast. The whole shop trembled,” he said. “Several people were injured, and many were being taken away from the spot soon after.”
Manoj, who runs a pani puri stall near Jama Masjid, said he felt the intensity of the blast from over a kilometre away.
“I was having food when we suddenly felt the blast in our chests, it was massive,” he said. “I rushed here and saw people screaming, some lying motionless. There was an autorickshaw driver injured badly; he was taken to hospital.”
Another witness, Bhupinder Singh, who was driving a loading vehicle, said the explosion occurred just as the traffic signal turned green.
“We were moving slowly when the blast happened. The window glass shattered, and we ran towards the market. It was very crowded, nobody knew what was happening,” he said.
Recalling the gut-wrenching scenes, Singh said, “We saw the body parts of two or three men blown to pieces.”
Irfan, another eyewitness, said the scene was horrific.
“We saw severed hands, fingers, and even the steering wheel of a car blown off. There were handcart pullers and taxi drivers caught in the blast, some of them didn’t survive,” he said.
Videos circulating on social media showed panicked locals shouting “Bomb phat gaya!” (A bomb has exploded!) and “Kata hua haath hai!” (There’s a severed hand!) as flames rose from the burning vehicles.
According to officials, the explosion occurred in a car parked near Gate No. 1 of the Red Fort metro station. “The intensity was quite high. Injuries are feared,” said a senior Delhi Fire Service officer.
Ten fire tenders were rushed to the spot with police cordoning off the area, the Delhi Fire Services said. The fire, officials said, was brought under control by 7.29 pm.
A high alert has been sounded in Delhi. Delhi Police’s Special Cell and anti-terror squads cordoned off the area and forensic teams began collecting samples from the wreckage.
Blast occurred in slow-moving vehicle, says Delhi Police chief
Soon after a car explosion near the Red Fort killing at least eight people, Delhi Police commissioner Satish Golcha on Monday said the blast took place in a slow-moving vehicle near the Red Fort traffic signal.
Talking to reporters at the blast site, he confirmed multiple deaths and injuries, and said Union Home Minister Amit Shah was being regularly briefed about the incident.
“There was a blast around 6.52 pm in a slow moving vehicle near Red Fort. There were passengers inside the vehicle,” Golcha said, adding other vehicles were damaged in the incident.
Earlier, officials said that the explosion happened inside a parked car.
The police commissioner said all agencies, including Delhi Police, forensic team, NIA, NSG, are taking stock of the situation.
“Some deaths happened, few people got injured. The situation is being regularly monitored. The home minister is being regularly briefed,” he said.
A high-intensity explosion occurred near the Red Fort metro station on Monday evening, gutting several vehicles and killing at least eight people, officials said.
Twenty-four people were injured in the blast that took place at a time when the area was milling with people. The injured were taken to the LNJP hospital a few kilometres away.
