Highlights:
- Blast near Delhi’s Red Fort kills eight, injures 20.
- Modi vows to bring all conspirators to justice.
- Case registered under anti-terror law UAPA.
- Red Fort station shut as forensics probe the site.
Indian police are investigating Monday’s car explosion in the capital under a law used to combat terrorism, officials said on Tuesday, as prime minister Narendra Modi pledged that those responsible would not be spared.
The explosion near the Red Fort killed at least eight people and injured 20. It was the first such blast in the heavily guarded city of over 30 million since 2011.
“Today, I have come to Bhutan with a very heavy heart,” Modi said in Thimphu, the capital of the neighbouring Himalayan nation, where he arrived for a scheduled visit.
“The horrific incident that happened in Delhi last evening has deeply disturbed everyone,” Modi said at a public meeting.
“Our agencies will get to the very bottom of this conspiracy. The conspirators behind this will not be spared. All those responsible will be brought to justice,” he added.
Anti-terror law invoked
Deputy Commissioner of Police Raja Banthia said Delhi Police had registered a case under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), as well as the Explosives Act and other criminal laws.
The UAPA is India’s main anti-terrorism law used to investigate and prosecute activities threatening the sovereignty and integrity of the country.
“Investigation is at a preliminary stage and any comment on it will be too premature,” Banthia told reporters.
In the city’s old quarter near the site of the blast, many shops that closed soon after the explosion remained shut on Tuesday morning.
Forensic experts were seen examining the area, which has been sealed since Monday night, with white cloth barriers placed around it.
Delhi Metro said the Red Fort station had been shut for security reasons.
Explosion near traffic signal
Police said a slow-moving car that stopped at a traffic signal exploded just before 7 p.m. (1330 GMT). Several nearby vehicles were also badly damaged.
The blast left behind mangled bodies and the wreckage of cars on a congested street near a metro station in Old Delhi.
There was no immediate information on the car’s occupants, who were presumed to have been killed. Police said they were tracing the vehicle’s owner.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said agencies were conducting a swift, thorough investigation and the findings would be made public soon.
Relatives of victims gathered outside Lok Nayak Hospital to identify the bodies of their family members.
“We at least know that my cousin is here, whether he is injured or not or the extent of his injury, we don’t know anything,” said a relative who did not want to be named.
Modi in Bhutan
The Red Fort, also known as Lal Qila, is a 17th-century Mughal-era monument that combines Persian and Indian architectural styles. It attracts tourists throughout the year.
Modi addresses the nation from the fort’s ramparts every year on August 15, India’s Independence Day.
The prime minister is in Bhutan for celebrations marking the 70th birthday of the country’s fourth king, Jigme Singye Wangchuck.
In April, Modi had cut short a visit to Saudi Arabia after 26 men were killed in an attack on Hindu tourists in Jammu and Kashmir.
New Delhi blamed that attack on what it called Islamist terrorists backed by Pakistan, a charge denied by Islamabad.
The incident led to the worst military confrontation between the two nuclear-armed neighbours in decades before they agreed to a ceasefire after four days.
(With inputs from agencies)
