Indian police on Tuesday opened an investigation under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) after a car exploded near the historic Red Fort in central Delhi, killing at least eight people. The blast occurred Monday afternoon on a busy street; a slow-moving car reportedly stopped at a traffic signal and detonated just before 7 p.m. local time.
Authorities closed the Red Fort and shut down the nearby Red Fort Metro station for three days while forensic teams examine the scene to determine the cause of the explosion. Several states, including Karnataka, Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir, have been placed on high alert.
“Investigation is at a preliminary stage and any comment on it will be too premature,” Deputy Commissioner of Police Raja Banthia said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, visiting Bhutan, expressed condolences to the victims’ families and vowed that those responsible would be held to account. “The horrific incident that happened in Delhi last evening has deeply disturbed everyone,” he said. “The conspirators behind this will not be spared. All those responsible will be brought to justice. Our agencies will get to the very bottom of this conspiracy.”
Defense Minister Rajnath Singh told a conference in New Delhi that investigative agencies were conducting a “swift and thorough inquiry” and that findings would be made public soon. Home Minister Amit Shah said authorities were examining “all angles” and that footage from nearby cameras would be an important part of the probe.
The blast revived memories of an April attack in Kashmir that killed 26 Hindu tourists and briefly escalated tensions with Pakistan; New Delhi blamed what it described as Islamist “terrorists” backed by Islamabad, a claim Pakistan denies.
Edited by: Wesley Rahn
