‘Never saw such a bloodbath in my 15-year-long career…’: Cop who was among first responders after blast outside Red Fort

He has been deployed at the Red Fort Police post for nearly 13 years. The post is a compound of five makeshift rooms, including one for the reception, and a boardroom, overlooking the Mughal-era monument.

The boardroom is the best of the lot — a wooden sofa has off-white cushions, a marble table is kept in front of it and white lamps light up the room. Singh points to the lamps and the freshly repaired ceiling. “The ceiling was damaged due to the blast. So were the other rooms… such was the impact,” says the constable, who also runs a school for underprivileged children at an abandoned temple behind the Red Fort.

At 6:40 pm on November 10, Singh’s wife Deepika called him when he was managing traffic in the area. “She was fasting. She asked me if I could go to the nearby Gauri Shanker Mandir and show her the deity so she could break her fast. I made a video call after reaching the temple around 6:50 pm. Within a minute, I heard a huge blast,” he says.

As per Singh, he reached the blast site at 6:54 pm. Vehicles were on fire, and fuel tanks were bursting. “The first person I pulled out of the pile was a woman, who was crying for help. I pulled her out from the rubble, carried her to an e-rickshaw, and asked the driver to get her to Lok Nayak Hospital,” he recounts.

By 7 pm, ambulances started to pour in, as did fire tenders, along with senior police officers, according to him. Singh was then joined by Constable Ajay, and other local police personnel and some health workers as they carried out the rescue operations.

“We then started cordoning off the area, barricading the roads till the end of the Netaji Subhash Marg. I then pulled out a man whose hands and legs were burnt. Then another guy, who was stuck between the bonnet and the windshield of the car… he was taken to Lok Nayak Hospital,” Singh adds with moist eyes.

Around 7:05 pm, the first Medico Legal certificate since the blast victims started rushing in, was made at the hospital.

By 7:15 pm, traffic personnel had started to re- route commuters as Gate number 1 and 4 of the Red Fort metro station were sealed. Joint CP (Central) Madhur Verma had reached the spot by 7:10 pm, and ensured the Netaji Road was cordoned off, and affected vehicles seized. “The crime team secured the area within minutes, and officials at the Red Fort police chowki showed incredible bravery in a tense situation,” says DCP (North) Raja Banthia, who cancelled his leave and flew back to Delhi within hours of the incident.

By 7:30 pm, at least five deaths were confirmed. And Singh says he had become almost numb. “Body parts were thrown all over the place,” Singh recalls.

When Singh finally checked his phone, around 11: 30 pm, he had 150 missed calls from his friends, colleagues and his wife, according to him.

“My wife heard the blast… then I had to cut the call. My children were sobbing as I was not reachable. Later, I called them back and reassured her. But for the next two days, I didn’t go home,” he shares with a grim look.