Red Fort blast: Death toll reaches 10; security tightened at RSS HQs in Nagpur

New Delhi: Sending shockwaves through the capital, a powerful blast ripped through cars parked near Delhi’s Red Fort Metro Station on Monday evening, leaving at least 10 people dead and a dozen others injured, prompting authorities to heighten security across the country, especially neighbouring UP, commercial capital Mumbai, and prominent installations like the RSS headquarters in Nagpur.

Notably, security at the RSS headquarters in Nagpur has also been tightened up.

Minutes after the blast incident at Delhi’s Red Fort led to the death of eight people, while a dozen were injured, Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to Home Minister Amit Shah and received an update on the situation.

According to government sources, PM Modi has taken stock of the situation.

Similarly, sources add that Home Minister Amit Shah spoke to Delhi Police Commissioner Satish Golcha and also to Intelligence Bureau chief Tapan Deka.

The Union Home Minister also spoke to NIA DG Sadanand Vasant Date and has advised him to send an NIA team to the spot.

The victims have been taken to LNJP Hospital. Sources said that a high alert has been issued for Delhi, Mumbai and Uttar Pradesh.

Neighbourhoods in Old Delhi near the Red Fort are among the most crowded in the national capital. Although details about the damage caused by the incident are yet to be available but so far, several fire engines have been dispatched to the site.

Several reports and social media are pointing towards the terror angle as of now; there has been no official confirmation on this.

Notably, the J&K Police earlier in the morning busted an inter-state transnational terror module linked to Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) and Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind terror outfits that led to the recovery of 2,900 kg of explosive, two assault rifles, pistols, timers, and other material in the Faridabad area of Haryana, near New Delhi, police said, adding that seven people have been arrested so far.

This seizure, followed by the explosion at Red Fort, occurs just a day before the second phase of the Bihar assembly elections.

IANS