(Image source from: AFP)
Nine individuals have lost their lives, and twenty others have been hurt following an explosion involving a vehicle close to the Red Fort on Monday evening, as reported by officials.
The explosion occurred in a Hyundai i20 car at 6:52 PM near the Red Fort Metro Station, resulting in disfigured bodies and wrecked vehicles scattered across the crowded area. A state of high alert has been declared in Delhi. The Delhi Police have activated sections of the UAPA (Unlawful Activities Prevention Act) after forensic evidence and intelligence information suggested possible links to terrorism. This explosion happened a few hours after Jammu and Kashmir Police discovered almost 3,000 kg of explosives in two homes in Faridabad, Haryana. The items seized included 350 kg of ammonium nitrate, which is a commonly used fertilizer that can be made into a lethal bomb; these materials were found based on information from an arrested doctor from Jammu and Kashmir, Adil Rather. The suspected suicide bomber, Dr. Umar Mohammad, along with his mother and two brothers, has been detained by the police, and DNA samples are being collected for identification.
According to sources, Umar, who was the owner of the car that was used in the explosion, allegedly became frightened and set off the blast near the Red Fort after investigators took in two main members of the group - Dr. Mujammil Shakeel and Dr. Adil Rather - and confiscated the explosives. He coordinated the attack with two other accomplices and placed a detonator in the vehicle, as per the sources. The ammonium nitrate that was found in Faridabad was used in this explosion as well, according to additional sources. Three weeks prior to the explosion near the famous Red Fort in Delhi, posters that backed the terror group Jaish-e-Mohammad were seen in various areas of Srinagar. Consequently, the Jammu and Kashmir police began an investigation that would trace back to Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, and the national capital. This investigation unveiled a notable change in terror recruitment that Jammu and Kashmir police referred to as a "white collar terror ecosystem."
Three doctors from Kashmir, Adeel Ahmad Rather, Muzammil Shakeel, and Umar Mohammed, are currently under investigation for their involvement in the explosion from last evening that resulted in nine deaths and left over twenty people wounded. The arrest of Rather and Shakeel in Saharanpur, Uttar Pradesh, and Faridabad, Haryana, respectively, led to the recovery of a large quantity of materials used for making bombs. Security agencies believe that the 2,900 kg of bomb-making supplies found in two rooms in Faridabad is likely ammonium nitrate. Initial findings indicate that this same chemical was used in the blast near the Red Fort. Union Home Minister Shri Amit Shah has led a high-level security meeting at Kartavya Bhawan at 11 AM today concerning the explosion near the Red Fort in Delhi that took nine lives. The meeting will include the Union Home Secretary, Director of the Intelligence Bureau, Delhi Police Commissioner, and DG of NIA.
