The national capital remains gripped by high tension following a high-intensity explosion that ripped through a slow-moving car near the Red Fort Metro Station late Monday evening, killing at least nine individuals and injuring over 20 others. The devastating incident has led to a declaration of a nationwide high alert, with security apparatuses across all states, including Gujarat, placed on maximum readiness, according to initial inputs filtering from top security and intelligence echelons.
Incident Details and Immediate Response
The explosion occurred around
6:52 PM in a Hyundai i20 car carrying a Haryana registration number. Eyewitness
accounts suggest the blast was so powerful it instantly set the vehicle and
several adjacent cars and auto-rickshaws ablaze. Fire tenders and emergency
teams rushed to the site, which was immediately cordoned off by Delhi Police.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah and top police officials visited the site and the
injured at LNJP Hospital, confirming a swift, coordinated investigation.
Delhi Police Commissioner
Satish Golcha stated the explosion happened as the vehicle stopped at the
Subhash Marg traffic signal. While the official cause remains undetermined, the
sheer intensity and timing have prompted security agencies to treat the matter
as a high-priority terror incident.
Multi-Agency Investigation and IB Coordination
The probe has been immediately
handed over to a multi-agency task force, including the National Investigation
Agency (NIA), the National Security Guard (NSG), the Forensic Science
Laboratory (FSL), and the Special Cell of the Delhi Police. Crucially, the
Union Home Minister is in constant communication with the Director of the
Intelligence Bureau (IB), signalling that central intelligence inputs are
driving the early stages of the investigation and the resulting high alert.
Investigators are tracing the
ownership trail of the exploded vehicle, which was registered to Md Salman in
Gurugram, who claimed to have sold it. The immediate priority is establishing
the chain of custody and determining who was in possession of the car at the
time of the blast. Teams are currently examining all available CCTV footage
near the blast site.
High Alert and Gujarat's Connection to Parallel Probes
The high alert is not confined
to the National Capital Region. States across the country, including Gujarat,
Mumbai, Uttar Pradesh, and Punjab, have intensified surveillance at all key
installations, including airports, metro stations, and government buildings.
The decision to impose a
nationwide alert is analytical, connecting the Delhi blast with two recent,
massive anti-terror operations:
- Gujarat ATS Arrests: Just
days before the Red Fort incident, the Gujarat Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS)
successfully apprehended three individuals allegedly involved in a
conspiracy to carry out a major terror attack using chemical weapons,
specifically the highly potent poison, ricin. The investigation revealed
that these operatives were allegedly receiving arms consignments via drone
from across the Pakistan border.
- Faridabad Explosives Seizure: Simultaneously,
a 'white-collar' terror module linked to groups like Jaish-e-Mohammed
(JeM) was busted in Faridabad, Haryana, leading to the arrest of multiple
individuals, including doctors, and the seizure of a staggering 2,900 kg
of explosive-making materials, including ammonium nitrate.
While authorities have yet to
officially establish a direct link between the Red Fort blast and these two
prior busts, the coordinated national alert reflects an intelligence assessment
that these events are part of a broader, interconnected network targeting major
Indian urban centres. The timing of the explosion, hours after the massive
recovery of explosives and arrests in the surrounding states, suggests either a
retaliatory strike or the activation of a separate, parallel module.
The coming days will be
critical as the NIA and IB attempt to integrate data from the forensic analysis
of the Delhi blast site with the digital and material evidence recovered from
the Gujarat and Haryana modules to piece together the full conspiracy. The
focus remains on determining the explosive used in the car and whether any of
the recently apprehended terror suspects had prior knowledge of the Red Fort
operation.
- Abhijit
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