New Delhi: A powerful explosion tore through a car parked near the Red Fort metro station on Monday evening, killing at least eight people and injuring 24 others, officials said. The injured were rushed to LNJP Hospital, a few kilometres from the blast site.
The high-intensity blast gutted multiple vehicles, including six cars, two e-rickshaws, and an auto-rickshaw, according to Delhi Fire Services. Ten fire tenders rushed to the scene, and the fire was brought under control by 7:29 pm. Windows of vehicles several metres away were shattered, and the explosion was reportedly heard as far as ITO.
Videos shared by the Chandni Chowk Traders’ Association showed the scale of the devastation. Eyewitnesses reported seeing bodies and scattered body parts near the site. Panic spread through the crowded area as vehicles were damaged and people fled.
An injured eyewitness said the blast appeared to have originated from a Swift car. “There was a Swift car in front of my auto. Something inside it suddenly exploded,” he said. Another witness, present at a nearby gurdwara, described the blast as “so loud we couldn’t make out what it was,” adding that multiple vehicles were completely damaged.
Sanjay Bhargaw, president of the Chandni Chowk Traders’ Association, whose shop is around 800 metres from the site, said, “The entire building shook due to the blast. There was chaos in the market as people ran for safety.”
A high alert has been sounded in Delhi, and the National Investigation Agency (NIA) has reached the scene to investigate the explosion.
The blast comes hours after Haryana Police, in coordination with Jammu and Kashmir authorities, recovered approximately 360 kg of suspected ammonium nitrate and a cache of arms and ammunition from the rented accommodation of a Kashmiri doctor in Faridabad. Dr Muzammil Ganaie was arrested in connection with the haul.
Authorities said the operation uncovered a “white-collar” terror module linked to Jaish-e-Mohammed and Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind, spanning Kashmir, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh. Eight people, including three doctors, have been arrested, and 2,900 kg of explosives seized. Among those arrested were Dr Ganaie in Faridabad and Dr Shaheen, a woman doctor from Lucknow, who was taken to Srinagar for custodial interrogation. An AK-47 rifle was reportedly found in her car.
With PTI inputs