Delhi Police have registered a case in connection with the explosion near the Red Fort Metro station on Monday night, which has as of now, killed 13 people and injured 20 others. The case has been filed at Kotwali police station under sections 16 and 18 of the UAPA, along with relevant sections of the Explosives Act and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
Preliminary findings from the blast site suggest no ballistic material or projectiles were recovered. Meanwhile, Delhi Police sources have reported the arrest of at least four suspects linked to the blast following overnight searches at hotels in Paharganj and Daryaganj.
The investigation has centered on Dr. Umar U. Nabi, a 36-year-old native of Pulwama, who is the key suspect and is believed to have been killed in the blast. The i20 car, which exploded near the traffic signal, was allegedly purchased by a Pulwama resident. Nabi, who completed his MBBS from Government Medical College, Srinagar in 2017, was allegedly part of the Faridabad-Jammu and Kashmir module of the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) and the Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind (AGuH), a J&K-specific wing of al Qaeda.
In response to the blast, a high-level security alert has been sounded across the country, particularly in New Delhi and Mumbai, and the security apparatus in Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, and poll-bound Bihar has been put on alert.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah is scheduled to chair a meeting later today with senior officials, including the Union Home Secretary, Director of the Intelligence Bureau, Delhi Police Commissioner, and DG of the NIA, to review the situation. DGP of Jammu and Kashmir, Nalin Prabhat, will attend the meeting virtually.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh extended his condolences over the deaths in the Red Fort blast. "I assure my citizens that the country's leading agencies are conducting a thorough investigation and those responsible for this tragedy will be brought to justice and will not be spared under any circumstances," he said.
Investigation teams are meticulously tracing the route of the suspect's car, examining over 100 CCTV clips from various locations, including the Badarpur border to the Red Fort area. While the identity of the deceased individual in the car will only be confirmed after DNA testing, initial CCTV footage indicates the suspect was alone in the vehicle.
The family of the arrested Dr. Muzammil Shakeel, meanwhile, has publicly denied any connection with unlawful activities, with his brother, Azad Shakil, stating, "We are Indians by heart, we’ve even faced stone pelting for India."
