NEW DELHI – India Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Nov 11 vowed that those behind the previous day’s car blast near the historic Red Fort that killed at least 13 people “will not be spared”, with police probing the attack under a law commonly used in terrorism cases.
The explosion, the first major incident in Delhi since 2011,
which has a significant Muslim community.
It triggered heightened security measures across the capital and other major cities, as police collected evidence to trace the chain of events leading up to the blast. Even as the authorities remained on high alert, the Indian eastern state of Bihar proceeded with its second round of state elections on Nov 11.
“I assure everyone that the agencies will get to the bottom of the entire conspiracy... All those responsible will be brought to justice,” said Mr Modi, who is currently on a two-day trip to neighbouring Bhutan.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh echoed the Prime Minister’s remarks, saying that the “findings of the investigation will soon be made public”.
So far, the police have not attributed the Red Fort blast to any group.
Preliminary police findings indicate the blast came from a vehicle that had stopped at a red light close to the gate of a metro station near the Red Fort, a popular tourist site.
The explosion was so intense that buildings shook across the Chandni Chowk area, which is a shopping hub that attracts scores of bargain hunters.
“I didn’t understand what was going on. Body parts flew onto the terrace of the temple,” said Mr Manish Barwal, 39, who was inside the Shri Digambar Jain Lal temple directly across the Red Fort.
“It was time for people to go home, so there was a lot of rush, and there were so many people at the time. I have never seen anything like this. I am scared, hearing on the news that chemicals and explosives have been seized,” he told The Straits Times.
On the morning after the blast, shops – from wedding finery and spice stores to popular street food shops – near the site started reopening by early afternoon and arranging their wares outside. But shops nearest to the blast site remained shut amid police investigations.
In Chandni Chowk, curious onlookers pressed against barricades set up at a distance for a glimpse of the blast site, which was shrouded in white tarpaulin and under police watch.
Another terror attack in April left 26 dead in India’s side of Kashmir, a disputed region claimed in full by both India and Pakistan. Islamabad denied India’s blame for the attack, which triggered a four-day military clash.
India has frequently accused Pakistan of supporting terror activities against India over the disputed area.
The last major terror attack in Delhi took place in 2011 when a briefcase bomb detonated outside the Delhi High Court, killing 15 people and injuring more than 60. The attack was linked to the terror outfits Indian Mujahideen and Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami, a Pakistan-based terror group.
