 "A member of the forensic team works at the site of an explosion near the historic Red Fort in the old quarters of Delhi. (Photo: Reuters)")
The Centre on Tuesday handed Delhi’s Red Fort blast case to the National Investigation Agency (NIA).
At least 12 people were killed and 20 injured on Monday evening when a car exploded at a traffic signal near Red Fort Metro Station.
Delhi Police Commissioner Satish Golcha previously said a slow-moving vehicle had stopped at a traffic light near the Red Fort Metro Station at around 6.52 pm and exploded. He added that nearby vehicles were also damaged in the explosion.
The Delhi Police had registered the case under terrorism-related sections of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 , confirming that the investigators were treating the blast as an act of terror.
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“The blast occurred in a moving Hyundai i20 car in which three people were sitting. We have not found any pellet or puncture in the body of the injured, which is unusual in a blast. We are investigating all angles,” a senior police officer separately told PTI.
Sources in the police told the news agency that no smell of RDX was detected at the site.
The explosion has been linked to the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) module busted in Jammu and Kashmir and Haryana that involved arrests of several people, including multiple doctors, and recovery of around 2,000 kilograms of explosives and several weapons.
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View AllThe car blast last occurred hours after the recovery of around 360 kilograms of suspected ammonium nitrate, which can be turned into explosives , and a cache of arms and ammunition from a Kashmiri doctor’s rented accommodation in Haryana’s Faridabad, near Delhi. Dr Muzammil Ganaie was arrested in the case from Faridabad’s Dhauj area.
The Faridabad arrests are recoveries —that have now been linked to the Red Fort car blast— are part of an ongoing counter-terrorism investigation stretching from Jammu and Kashmir to Haryana.
Overall, the Jammu and Kashmir Police said on Monday that around 2,900 kg of bomb-making material has so far been recovered in the case, which included explosives, chemicals, reagents, inflammable material, electronic circuits, batteries, wires, remote controls, timers, and metal sheets.