At least eight people have been killed and 24 reportedly injured in a moving car blast near Gate No. 1 of Red Fort Metro Station at around 7 pm on Monday, 10 November. The injured were taken to the Lok Nayak Jai Prakash (LNJP) hospital in central Delhi. The nature of the blast is still unknown.
Three to four vehicles also caught fire and sustained damage. Fire tenders, ambulances, and senior police officials were rushed to the spot.
After the explosion, Union Home Minister Amit Shah spoke with the Delhi Police Commissioner Satish Golcha. "This evening, around 7 pm, a blast occurred in a Hyundai i20 car at the Subhash Marg traffic signal near the Red Fort in Delhi. Within 10 minutes of receiving the information of the blast, teams from the Delhi Crime Branch and Delhi Special Branch arrived at the spot," he told news agency ANI.
Shah said teams from the National Security Guard (NSG), National Investigating Agency (NIA), and the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) are investigating the incident, and asserted that they were "exploring all possibilities."
Hours after the blast, the Home Minister visited LNJP hospital to meet the injured.
Meanwhile, Delhi Police Commissioner Satish Golcha told media persons, "Today at around 6.52 pm, a slow-moving vehicle stopped at the red light. An explosion happened in that vehicle, and due to the explosion, nearby vehicles were also damaged. All agencies, FSL, NIA, are here." He added that the situation was being monitored closely.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi posted on X that he has reviewed the situation. His post read, "Condolences to those who have lost their loved ones in the blast in Delhi earlier this evening. May the injured recover at the earliest. Those affected are being assisted by authorities. Reviewed the situation with Home Minister Amit Shah Ji and other officials."
States On High Alert
Several states, including Delhi, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar have been put on alert in the wake of the blast. Security has been tightened across Chandigarh.
Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi condemned the blast. In a post on X, he said:
Former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal also posted, saying:
(This is a developing story. We'll keep updating the story as and when we have more details.)