Culprit arrived in auto, similarities to 2021 blast: What investigators have found in Israel embassy explosion

It’s been three days since the Israeli embassy in New Delhi was rocked by a low-intensity blast. Authorities have been working hard to trace the culprits involved in the explosion, and investigating officials have discovered eerie similarities between the 26 December incident and a similar blast that took place in January 2021 at the same location. As of now, authorities have questioned 12 people in the blast, which Israel has called a “possible terror attack”, prompting it to issue a travel advisory to its citizens. Here’s what has been uncovered so far. Culprit ‘who can’t speak Hindi properly’ Investigators have reportedly made a breakthrough in the 26 December blast and narrowed down one of the culprits to be a man who came to the spot by an autorickshaw and couldn’t speak proper Hindi. People related to the matter told the Indian Express that authorities have been scanning the CCTV footage of the area and found that a dozen people had visited the crime scene in the hours leading up to the blast. “This included civil department labourers who were working at the spot, a porter, and a couple, all of whom were questioned and eventually given a clean chit. Police then zeroed in on a man seen coming out of an autorickshaw around 2.30 pm,” the source told Indian Express.

After further digging, they were able to trace the auto driver. The auto driver revealed to the investigating officials that the man believed to be the mastermind of the blast approached him at Jamia Nagar Metro station and two struck a deal for Rs 150 for him to be ferried to the spot where the Israeli embassy is situated. The source further told Indian Express that the man was not able to speak Hindi properly and asked the auto driver to drop him at Prithviraj Road. It was from here that the reported culprit took another auto, which then made its way to Kartavya Path. Similarities between two blasts Investigators have also found similarities between the blast on 26 December and the one that took place on 29 January 2021. For those who don’t remember, a crude bomb had gone off near the Embassy of Israel in New Delhi on the same day that the two countries marked the 29th anniversary of their diplomatic ties. Firstly, neither blasts caused injuries or casualties. There’s also the fact that in both cases, the accused reached the spot by auto rickshaw and even fled the scene in the same mode of transportation. Moreover, both involved suspects conducting reconnaissance before carrying out the attacks to avoid detection by CCTV cameras. Investigators have also revealed that a timer device was used in the two blasts. Additionally, in the matter of both blasts, authorities found letters at the scene of the crime. In this week’s blast, a letter, which was addressed to the Israeli ambassador, was recovered from the scene. While its full contents haven’t been revealed yet, sources had earlier said that it was “abusive” and spoke of Israel’s actions against Palestine and in the Gaza Strip in the wake of the 7 October attack by Palestinian group Hamas. And it has now been revealed that the lesser-known outfit called Sir Allah Resistance has claimed responsibility for the letter. However, a source has been quoted as saying that authorities have no information about such an outfit’s existence. In the previous blast, the letter, addressed to the Israeli ambassador had said that the explosion was just a “trailer” and referred to Iran’s general Qasem Soleimani and nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, as “martyrs”. [caption id=“attachment_13556962” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Police and other officials near the Embassy of Israel after Delhi Police received a call about a blast near the embassy. Officials have recovered shrapnel and ball-bearings from the site. PTI[/caption] Recounting the 26 December blast A day after Christmas, a low-intensity blast had occurred in the high-security area of Delhi where the Israel embassy is located. Israel’s deputy chief of mission, Ohad Nakash Kaynar was quoted as saying after the blast, “This evening, several minutes after 5 pm, an explosion occurred in close proximity to the embassy. All our workers are safe, all our diplomats are safe. Our security teams are working in full cooperation with the local Delhi security, and they will investigate the matter further.” Security officials, including the Bomb Disposal Squad as well as the canine unit, quickly rushed to the spot of the explosion and revealed they had found shrapnel and ball-bearings. They also revealed that they had spotted two ‘persons of interest’ on CCTV footage and were trying to locate them. [caption id=“attachment_13557022” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] The blast at the Israel embassy prompted other embassies across the world to increase their security. PTI[/caption] The blast had prompted Israel to issue an advisory, urging their nationals to be alert and vigilant in India. Security was also increased at other Israeli embassies across the world in the aftermath of the blast. In light of the incident, it was also found that the Israel embassy in New Delhi had received threats about two months ago, which it had relayed to the Ministry of Home Affairs. The Print had reported that on 16 October, the Israel embassy had requested intervention after receiving threats. The blast came even as Israel continues its heavy bombardment of the Gaza Strip in its attempt to wipe out Hamas. A total of 21,320 Palestinians have been killed and 55,603 injured in Israeli strikes on Gaza since 7 October, a spokesperson from the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry said on Thursday. The number is only expected to rise with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowing that they won’t stop until each hostage is rescued and all of Hamas is wiped out. With inputs from agencies