Home Minister Amit Shah at a review meeting in New Delhi today.
Inquiry Deepens into Delhi Car Explosion
Modi, Shah promise full probe
New Delhi: The Union Government has initiated a coordinated multi-agency investigation into yesterday’s car explosion near the Red Fort Metro Station in Old Delhi, with senior national security officials and technical specialists holding consecutive review meetings to examine initial forensic indications, the movement history of the vehicle, and the sequence of events that preceded the blast.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA), which has assumed formal charge under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, is working in close coordination with the Delhi Police Special Cell, the National Security Guard and the Intelligence Bureau, while multiple teams from the Forensic Science Laboratory in Delhi continue to extract, catalogue and prepare material for chemical and structural analysis.
Officials said the immediate aim is to identify the composition of the explosive material, determine the mechanism of detonation, and establish whether the device, if confirmed, was assembled within the city using commercially available components or incorporated prefabricated elements sourced or transported from outside Delhi.
Authorities confirmed today that the death toll from the incident has risen to 12, after three additional injured persons succumbed to their injuries overnight. Several others remain under treatment at hospitals in central Delhi, where medical staff are managing cases involving burn injuries, blast-pressure trauma, lacerations and smoke inhalation. The casualty figures are being reconciled through medico-legal documentation and cross-verification between emergency admissions and police records. The Delhi government has announced compensation for the families of the deceased and has confirmed that treatment expenses for the injured will be borne by the state.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, posting from Thimphu, Bhutan, where he attended commemorations marking the 70th birthday of the Fourth King of Bhutan, stated that the incident had “deeply pained everyone” and added that he had been in continuous contact with the responsible agencies since the explosion occurred. “India stands with those who have suffered,” he wrote on the platform X, expressing assurance that “the agencies will get to the bottom of the entire conspiracy” and that “all those involved will be brought to justice.” The comments were accompanied by video excerpts from his remarks at the Bhutan event.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah chaired two high-level security review meetings at North Block in the national capital. The first was attended by the Union Home Secretary, the Director of the Intelligence Bureau, the Director General of the National Investigation Agency and the Commissioner of Police, Delhi, with the Director General of Jammu and Kashmir Police participating via video link. The second meeting included the Director General of the National Security Guard, the Director of Forensic Science Services, the Chief Director of the Forensic Science Laboratory in Delhi and senior officials from technical divisions associated with evidence reconstruction. After the meetings, Shah stated in a post on X that the officials had been instructed to “hunt down each and every culprit behind this incident” and that “everyone involved in this act will face the full wrath of our agencies.”
Investigators have begun reconstructing the vehicle’s final trajectory. The car, a white Hyundai i20, exploded near the Red Fort Metro Gate traffic signal, and a detailed review of closed-circuit television footage is underway to determine whether it had been stationary, idling or moving through the traffic stream at the time of ignition. The vehicle’s registration details have been traced, and the registered owner has been questioned. Officials noted that establishing the precise relationship between nominal ownership and actual possession or use is a standard component of such inquiries and requires verification of service records, insurance claims, toll-transit logs and mobile-phone location data. Forensic specialists examining the structure of the burned vehicle frame, wheel assembly, insulation pattern and fragmentation scatter are assessing whether the damage pattern aligns with an internalised blast force or a combustion-based ignition. Officials stated that no definitive conclusion will be issued before laboratory confirmation of chemical traces obtained from metal shavings, upholstery fragments, ground sediment and air-residue filters.
Hospitals that received victims reported varied injury profiles, reflecting differences in proximity to the ignition point and exposure to secondary heat and debris effects. Emergency response teams transported several individuals to multiple facilities simultaneously, which contributed to initial variation in reported casualty numbers, officials said. They added that final tallies require coordinated reconciliation across medical and police systems, and that families are being informed through official channels before names are released publicly.
Security deployment has been strengthened in Old Delhi and adjoining zones, including Chandni Chowk, Daryaganj and Netaji Subhash Marg, as well as at major transit hubs and markets. Police have increased vehicle checks, particularly during evening hours when congestion peaks in the walled-city area. Senior officials stated that these measures were precautionary, standard in blast-investigation contexts, and would remain in place until the nature, origin and intent associated with the explosion are determined.
Several foreign missions in New Delhi expressed condolences and conveyed solidarity with India. The United States Embassy issued an advisory asking its nationals to avoid the affected sector while police maintain cordons. Missions of Japan, France, Argentina, the United Kingdom and Egypt posted messages of sympathy to the families of the victims, and some diplomatic channels circulated internal guidance recommending heightened situational awareness in crowded public locations.
Officials familiar with the investigation said that the next 24 to 72 hours would involve laboratory confirmation of explosive signatures, examination of sourcing trails for components identifiable through serial codes or chemical markers, correlation of the vehicle’s travel history with mobile-phone geolocation logs, and analysis of communication linkages among persons associated with the car in the days preceding the incident. They reiterated that premature attribution of motive or organisational association could complicate the inquiry and affirmed that all investigative angles remain open pending corroborated technical findings. Further updates will be issued once the forensic laboratories complete their preliminary reports and once the multi-agency evidence review reaches its initial conclusions.
– global bihari bureau
