Eight killed in blast near Red Fort; cars gutted, several injured

A high-intensity explosion ripped through a slow-moving car at a traffic signal near the Red Fort metro station on Monday evening, killing at least eight people and gutting several vehicles, 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.

Delhi Police Commissioner Satish Golcha said the car, in which the blast took place, had some occupants.

According to a senior police officer, "The blast occurred in a moving Hyundai i20 car in which three people were sitting. We have not found any pellet or puncture in the body of the injured, which is unusual in a bomb blast. We are investigating all angles."

Police sources said the car was registered in the name of one Nadeem Khan and bore a Haryana number plate.

A high alert has been sounded in Delhi, and security has been beefed up at city border points, with vehicle checking intensified. Panic gripped the area as fire billowed from burning cars following the explosion.

Videos shared by the Chandni Chowk Traders' Association revealed the magnitude of the blast. A mangled body could be seen lying on a vehicle, while another clip showed a body on the road. Eyewitnesses said body parts could be seen scattered near the blast site.

Ten fire tenders were rushed to the spot as police cordoned off the area, the Delhi Fire Services said. The blaze caused by the blast was brought under control by 7.29 pm, officials said.

Golcha told reporters that Union Home Minister Amit Shah is being regularly briefed about the incident.

"There was a blast around 6.52 pm in a slow-moving vehicle at a traffic signal near the Red Fort metro station. There were passengers inside the vehicle. Other vehicles got affected. All agencies -- Delhi Police, Forensic Science Laboratory, National Investigation Agency (NIA), National Security Guard (NSG) -- have arrived and they are taking stock of the situation," he said.

Shah spoke to the Delhi police chief and the director of the Intelligence Bureau to take stock of the situation. He directed the chiefs of the NSG, NIA and forensic sciences to send expert teams to the blast site to assist the probe and collect evidence.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi also took stock of the situation and expressed condolences over the deaths.

No terror outfit has so far claimed responsibility for the attack.

Police are scanning CCTV footage to determine the route of the vehicle before the blast occurred. They are questioning locals and asking eyewitnesses to share information about any suspicious activity in the lead-up to the incident. Mobile dump data are being gathered, and dossiers of suspected terrorists are being scanned.

According to a fire department official, six cars, two e-rickshaws and one autorickshaw were gutted in the fire.

The blast was so powerful that it shattered the window panes of vehicles parked several metres away, and the sound was heard at ITO, a few kilometres from the site.

A person injured in the incident said the explosion appeared to have originated from a car. Another witness said, "I was at the gurdwara when I heard a loud sound. We were dumbfounded. A number of vehicles were completely damaged."

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi took stock of the situation and spoke with Home Minister Amit Shah, government sources said.

In the aftermath of the incident, the Chandni Chowk market will be closed on Tuesday, said market president Sanjay Bhargaw. Bhargaw's shop is about 800 metres away from the incident site. He said the entire building shook due to the blast. There was chaos in the market as people started running, he shared.

The blast in Delhi occurred 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 Faridabad, bordering Delhi. Haryana Police, in coordination with their Jammu and Kashmir counterparts, arrested Dr Muzammil Ganaie from Faridabad's Dhauj area.