On a busy Monday morning, a violent explosion tore through a slow-moving car at a traffic light near Red Fort Metro station, gutting several vehicles, killing at least eight people and injuring 20 others, including two women.
The victims of the Delhi car blast were rushed to the Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan (LNJP) Hospital, a few kilometers away from the blast site. The families of the victims of the explosion wept uncontrollably outside the hospital, hoping that their loved ones would recover.
The heart-wrenching screams of two young boys could be heard outside the LNJP morgue. One of them was mourning the death of his father Dinesh Kumar Mishra. He cried for his ‘father’ as families waited for the bodies of the blast victims.
A relative of Mishra told reporters that he was working around the Red Fort area. His body was sent for an autopsy.
“Dinesh Kumar Mishra was my nephew and used to work here…His body has been sent for post-mortem…” he said.
According to a list shared by LNJP Hospital, a total of 20 people, including two women and 18 men, were injured in the incident.
Of these, 12 are residents of Delhi, while eight are from other states, including Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh.
The youngest injured victim was 21-year-old Shivam Jha from Usmanpur, Delhi.
Police said nine people died in the blast, adding that one mutilated body was recovered from the site.
Two of the deceased have been identified as 34-year-old Ashok Kumar from Amroha in UP and 35-year-old Amar Kataria from Delhi, while the rest are unidentified and aged between 28 and 58 years.
Eyewitnesses said body parts were seen scattered near the blast site.
Videos shared by the Chandni Chowk traders’ association revealed the extent of the blast. A dismembered body was seen lying on top of a vehicle, while another clip showed a body on the road.
Case registered under UAPA
Delhi Police has registered an FIR under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and the Explosives Act in connection with the blast near Red Fort. The FIR was registered under Sections 16 and 18 of the UAPA, which deal with punishment and conspiracy for terrorist attack.
Delhi Police conducts raids at several locations. A state of emergency was declared in the capital, with tight security at the airport, railway stations and bus terminals.
