9 killed, many injured in car blast near Red Fort, Amit Shah says probing all angles

The vehicle, identified as a Hyundai i20, was tracked to a Gurgaon resident, who is learnt to have said during questioning that he had sold it to someone else. The vehicle is learnt to have changed hands a couple of times, with the last owner being identified as a resident of Pulwama in Jammu and Kashmir.

A preliminary investigation indicated that the vehicle had been parked near the Red Fort area for over three hours before it was driven out.

Speaking to reporters after visiting the blast site, Delhi Police Commissioner Satish Golcha said that a slow-moving vehicle stopped at the traffic signal near Gate No.1 of Red Fort Metro Station, following which an explosion took place at 6.52 pm. Two to three people were in the car, he said.

NSG commandoes, in their signature black overalls, arriving at the blast site. (Express Photo/Gajendra Yadav)

“The explosion affected surrounding vehicles. As soon as we were informed, we notified all agencies concerned – Delhi Police, FSL, NIA and NSG. Their teams have arrived and are monitoring the situation. They are investigating the cause behind the explosion,” he said.

Six cars, four motorcycles and three e-rickshaws caught fire after the blast, sources said.

Sources said initial investigations showed that the site did not appear to have any craters. “The people who were injured don’t have splinter wounds, and there’s no crater at the spot. However, the explosion was so powerful that the vehicles around were completely shattered,” a police officer said. The injured arrived at the hospital with burn injuries and mangled limbs.

“This evening, around 7 pm, a blast occurred in a Hyundai i20 car at the Subhash Marg traffic signal near the Red Fort in Delhi… Within 10 minutes of receiving information of the blast, teams from the Delhi Crime Branch and Delhi Special Branch arrived at the spot. The NSG and NIA teams, along with the FSL, have started a thorough investigation. Orders have been given to examine all nearby CCTV cameras and I have also spoken to the Delhi CP and the Special Branch in-charge,” Shah said.

“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.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah arrives at the spot of the blast in a Hyundai i20 car near Gate No. 1 of the Red Fort Metro station, in Delhi on Monday. (Source: ANI Photo)

Asked if it was a terror attack, Shah, who later visited the blast site, 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.”

He said he would hold a high-level meeting with top officials on Tuesday to analyse the blast. Shah said Prime Minister Narendra Modi had spoken to him, and he had briefed him about the blast.

In a post on X, Modi said: “Condolences to those who have lost their loved ones in the blast in Delhi earlier this evening. May the injured recover at the earliest… Those affected are being assisted by authorities. Reviewed the situation with Home Minister Amit Shah Ji and other officials.”

The Delhi Fire Service said in a statement that a call was received around 6.55 pm about an explosion and vehicles catching fire. Seven fire tenders were rushed to the spot and the fire was doused by 7.36 pm, the statement said.

Delhi CM Rekha Gupta has called the blast near the Red Fort “extremely distressing and alarming.” (Express Photo/Tashi Togyal)

Such was the impact of the blast that a police post nearly 100 metres away was blown apart, and damaged car parts landed 200 metres away.

A high alert has been sounded across Delhi and several other cities.

Videos of the aftermath of the explosion showed flames across a large area, bodies on the road, and people trying to rescue victims from the flames. Local residents who live close to the Sis Ganj Gurdwara said their windows were shattered, and they had rushed out of their homes.

Sanjay Bhargava, president of the Chandni Chowk Sarv Vyapar Mandal (traders’ association), told The Indian Express: “It was a massive blast. The shaking could be felt as far as 700 to 900 metres away. Buildings shook as if an earthquake had struck… There were bodies lying on the road.”

Police personnel at the site after a blast in a parked car near Red Fort left multiple vehicles in flames, in New Delhi, Monday. (Source: PTI Photo)

The Red Fort metro station is on the main road between Delhi Gate in Central Delhi and Kashmere Gate to the north. It is opposite the road leading to Chandni Chowk, and is around 1.5 kilometres from Jama Masjid. The Old Delhi Railway Station is around 2 kilometres away.

The site of the blast is directly opposite the pedestrian stretch of Chandni Chowk. Describing the situation in the market, Bhargava said: “All shops have now been shut. The roads are packed, and there’s panic among shoppers. People are rushing to leave… There’s a long queue outside the market’s parking area as everyone is trying to get to their cars and exit as quickly as possible.”

Restrictions were imposed on entry to the metro station. “Delhi Police has restricted entry/ exit at Gate Nos. 1 and 4 at Lal Qila. However Metro services are running normally throughout the network,” the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) said in a statement.

(With inputs from Saman Husain, Mahender Singh Manral)

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