Preliminary probe suggests Red Fort car blast was part of larger terror plan
New Delhi, Nov 11
The white Hyundai i20 car that exploded on Netaji Subhash Marg in Delhi near the Red Fort was parked outside a Mosque for nearly two hours before the incident.
The investigations show that the car that exploded, claiming the lives of eight people, including the three occupants, was parked outside the Sunheri Masjid before the incident.
The police managed to piece together the route of the vehicle by obtaining CCTV footage from the area.
The footage shows the three occupants of the car driving from Daryaganj Market towards the Mosque's parking lot near the Red Fort at around 4 p.m.
The blast took place at around 6.31 p.m., the police said. The car then took a U-turn near the Old Delhi Railway Station and then headed towards Lower Subhash Marg.
The car slowed down at the traffic signal on Chhata Rail Chowk, and then the explosion occurred, the police said.
It is, however, unclear whether the explosion was meant to take place at the signal or the occupants intended to ram the car into the Red Fort, officials said.
The trail of the car's ownership is also under investigation. It has been found that the car was sold several times.
The vehicle bore the registration number HR26CE7674. It was first registered in 2014 to one Mohammad Salman, a resident of Gurugram. Following this, the car had been sold multiple times.
Salman sold it to a person called Devender, following which it was sold to a person in Ambala.
The current owner of the car remains unknown, and investigators are working on that aspect.
The registered owner, however, is under arrest and being questioned.
Multiple agencies are working on the case.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA), the Intelligence Bureau and the Delhi Police's Anti-Terror Unit are part of the probe.
The Ambala Police, too, have launched a parallel investigation into the case.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah said that a comprehensive investigation is being made and all angles are being looked into.
Meanwhile, a high alert is in place in Delhi and the neighbouring states.
The agencies suspect that this incident could be linked to the busting of the Faridabad module.
In the national capital, security is at an all-time high with additional police and CISF personnel being deployed.
All government buildings and other sensitive spots in the city have been secured.
The police are also probing deep into the Faridabad module as they suspect that it could be linked to this incident.
When the module was busted, the police recovered 2,900 kilograms of explosives. This has led to the suspicion that the module may have planned many more attacks in Delhi and the neighbouring states.
An official confirmed that the module had planned on carrying out a series of attacks by loading cars with explosives.
The plan may have been to park explosive-laden cars at all major locations in Delhi, including the Delhi Metro and then trigger off blasts.
Prime facie, it appears that the intention was to drive the vehicles into important structures, thus orchestrating a wave of suicide bombings in the national capital, officials also said.
— IANS
Reader Comments
Why was the car parked outside a mosque for 2 hours? This raises so many questions. The investigation must be thorough and transparent. My heart goes out to the families of the victims. ðŸ™
As someone living in Delhi, this news is really scary. The thought that they planned attacks on Delhi Metro and other major locations... we need better security measures everywhere.
The car being sold multiple times shows how these networks operate. Our intelligence needs to track such suspicious transactions more effectively. Good that multiple agencies are working together on this.
While I appreciate the security response, I hope the investigation doesn't target any particular community unfairly. We've seen this happen before. Justice should be blind and fair for all.
The planning to attack Red Fort - our national heritage site - shows how brazen these terrorists have become. We must stand united against such threats. Jai Hind! 💪
The CCTV footage analysis seems to be key here. Thank god for technology that helps our police track these criminals. Hope they catch everyone involved in this network soon.
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