Israel embassy blast: Govt hands over probe to NIA
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New Delhi: The Union home ministry on Tuesday handed over the probe into the blast near Israel embassy in Delhi to the National Investigation Agency (NIA).
A minor IED blast that took place near the Israeli Embassy on the Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Road in the national capital on Friday evening had sent security establishments into a tizzy. No one was injured.
"The investigation into the blast near the Israeli embassy has been handed over to the NIA," a home ministry official said.
As the NIA has expertise in terror-related cases, it would begin the probe soon after receiving the official order issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA). The case is being currently handled by the Delhi Police.
The development comes after Prime Minister Narendra Modi's telephonic conversation with his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday.
In the conversation, Modi had conveyed his strong condemnation of the terror attack near the Israeli Embassy and asserted that India accords the highest importance to the safety and security of Israeli diplomats and premises and would deploy all its resources to find and punish the perpetrators.
The bomb blast took place on Friday around 5 p.m., shattering the windscreens of three cars on the road while the Beating Retreat ceremony was going on a few kilometres away from the spot.
External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar later spoke to his Israeli counterpart Gabi Ashkenazi and assured him of "fullest protection" to Israel's mission and its diplomats in India.
The bomb appeared to have been planted in a flowerpot on the road divider, police then said. A letter in an envelope addressed "to Israel Embassy ambassador" was later found at the spot.