NEW DELHI
India’s anti-terrorism agency spearheaded on Wednesday the third day of investigations into a car blast in the capital, as a hospital official said the death toll had increased to 12. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has called the explosion on Monday evening a “conspiracy”, and has vowed that those responsible will face justice.
Police are yet to give exact details of what caused the intense explosion near the historic Red Fort in the crowded Old Delhi quarter of the city, one of India’s best-known landmarks and the site of the annual Independence Day speech by the prime minister.It was the most significant security incident since April 22, when 26 mainly Hindu civilians were killed at the tourist site of Pahalgam in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), triggering clashes with Pakistan.
“Twelve people have died and more than 30 are injured,” Ritu Saxena, the chief medical officer of Delhi’s LNJP hospital, told media. India’s National Investigation Agency (NIA) is leading the probe into the explosion, which came hours after police said they had arrested a gang and seized explosive materials and assault rifles. Home Minister Amit Shah, after chairing security talks following Monday’s blast, said he had instructed officials “to hunt down each and every culprit behind this incident”.
Indian police are investigating whether there is a link between this week’s car blast in Delhi and the earlier arrest of a group of seven men from the restive IIOJK region, found with arms and bomb-making material, three sources familiar with the probe said on Wednesday.
