LIVE Delhi Red Fort car bomb blast: Identification of victims a challenge

A high-intensity blast ripped through a car parked near Delhi's Red Fort today at around 6.52 pm as per Delhi Police, engulfing nearby vehicles in flames and killing at least eight people and injuring at least 24, as per latest reports. Details of the dead and injured are yet to be released.

Police sounded a high alert in Delhi. Several fire tenders were rushed to the spot with police cordoning off the area, Delhi Fire Services (DFS) said. The explosion was so powerful that it shattered windows of vehicles parked several hundred metres away and was heard in nearby buildings of the congested area.

The explosion occurred on a busy evening when the area was teeming with people. The injured were taken to Lok Nayak Jaiprakash Narayan Hospital a few kilometres away.

President Droupadi Murmu has conveyed “heartfelt condolences to the families and friends of those who lost their lives in the blast”.

For a city that has endured some of India’s most devastating terror strikes, the deafening boom felt like a grim echo from a traumatic past. Delhi’s monuments, markets and public spaces have repeatedly been the frontline of violence, each attack leaving indelible scars on its civic memory.

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The Indian Express has quoted police sources to claim that the blast site shows neither a crater as happens when RDX is involved in an explosion, nor have the victims suffered splinter injuries as happens in an RDX-related explosion.

Meanwhile, identifying the victims has proven difficult thus far, owing to missing body parts and severely disfigured corpses.

Karnataka deputy chief minister D.K. Shivakumar on Monday expressed shock and grief over the tragedy in an X post, in which he wrote: "Deeply shocked and disturbed by the tragic blast near Red Fort, Delhi. The loss of innocent lives is heartbreaking. My thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families. Wishing a speedy recovery to the injured."

A high alert has been sounded across Haryana, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, and Rajasthan in view of the security risk following the car bomb blast. The alert is particularly applicable to sensitive districts and religious sites.

A high alert has been sounded across poll-bound Bihar following the Delhi car bomb blast, director-general of police Vinay Kumar said.

Security has already been beefed up across Bihar for the second and final phase of the Assembly polls on 11 November.

Speaking to PTI, Kumar said, "A high-security alert has been sounded across Bihar following the explosion near the Red Fort. All district police and several other wings of the Bihar Police have been directed to maintain a close watch and extraordinary vigil to thwart any attempt by anti-national elements by intensifying area domination patrolling and search operations."

Sources in Bihar Police said security has been heightened at all tourist attractions, like the Mahabodhi Temple Complex in Bodh Gaya, Viswa Shanti Stupa at Rajgir, Mahaveer temple and the Takhat Sri Harimandir Ji in Patna. Security has also been tightened at all airports in the state.

Earlier on Monday, Faridabad Police, in a joint operation with the Jammu and Kashmir Police, arrested a Kashmiri doctor and recovered a massive cache of explosives and weapons from his rented accommodation in Dhauj village near Delhi.

The accused, identified as Dr Muzammil Shakeel, a teacher at Al Falah University, was wanted in connection with posters supporting the terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammed in Srinagar.

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In his first pubic statement following the tragedy, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has offered condolences to the deceased in the Delhi Red Fort blast. The PM said he has reviewed the situation with Union home minister Amit Shah and other officials.

Union home minister Amit Shah, to whom the Delhi Police reports, has reached Loknayak Hospital to meet the survivors of the tragedy. Speaking to news agency ANI earlier, Shah confirmed that the vehicle involved in the explosion was a Hyundai i20, and that the blast occurred at Subhash Marg traffic signal.

A high alert has been issued in Maharashtra following a blast in a car parked near the Red Fort metro station in New Delhi on Monday evening, and security has been beefed up at vital installations, police said.

A senior police officer said a "precautionary alert" has been issued for Mumbai. "All the unit commanders at the district level in Maharashtra and commissioners of cities have been instructed to remain alert to avoid any untoward incidents", an official said.

Police are maintaining a strong vigil and stepped up security at important places and vital installations in the state and Mumbai, the official said.

Rajasthan Police on Monday sounded an alert to maintain heightened vigilance across the state following the explosion outside the Red Fort.

DGP Rajeev Kumar Sharma directed maximum police deployment at railway stations, bus stands, shopping malls, religious places and other high-footfall areas in an advisory issued to all DCPs and SPs. He also asked Bomb Disposal Squads (BDS) to remain on high alert.

Sharma directed that all SPs and DCPs personally supervise security arrangements and ensure that all precautionary measures are taken. He also ordered close monitoring of CCTV footage at command centres to detect any suspicious activity promptly, and directed social media monitoring teams to remain alert and immediately counter any misleading or false information.

All Range IGPs and police commissioners have been asked to ensure strict compliance with the directives.

In a post in Hindi on X, Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi has called the tragedy deeply concerning.

"The news of the car explosion near Delhi's Red Fort Metro Station is extremely heartbreaking and concerning. The report of the deaths of several innocent people in this tragic incident is profoundly sorrowful. In this hour of grief, I stand with the bereaved families who have lost their loved ones and express my deepest condolences to them. I hope for the swift recovery of all the injured," he wrote.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has reportedly taken stock of the situation in the wake of the car bomb blast in Delhi, government sources told the Indian Express. Modi also spoke to Union home minister Amit Shah for an update on the situation, the sources said.

Former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal has called the deaths in the Red Fort blast “extremely tragic”. In an X post, he wrote: “The news of the explosion near the Red Fort is extremely alarming. It is reported that some people have also lost their lives in it, which is extremely tragic.”

As per an ANI social media post, Delhi Police commissioner Satish Golcha said, "Today at around 6.52 pm, a slow-moving vehicle stopped at the red light. An explosion happened in that vehicle, and due to the explosion, nearby vehicles were also damaged. All agencies, FSL, NIA, are here... Some people have died, and some have been injured in the incident. The situation is being monitored. The Home Minister (Amit Shah) has also called us, and information is being shared with him from time to time."

According to news agency ANI, 15 people were shifted to Delhi's Lok Nayak Jaiprakash Narayan Hospital, of whom eight died before they could receive treatment. Three are seriously injured, while one is in stable condition, the news agency reported, quoting the hospital's medical superintendent

WATCH | Zeeshan, an auto driver injured in the explosion, says: "The car in front of me was about two feet away. I don’t know whether there was a bomb in it or something else, but it exploded. It was a Swift Dzire car."

West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee has put out a post on X condoling the loss of lives in the Red Fort explosion.

Multiple charred vehicles could be seen in the area in the aftermath of the explosion. The entire area has been cordoned off with rows of Delhi Police vehicles lining the street. 

The Indian Express quoted Sanjay Bhargava, president of the Chandni Chowk Sarv Vyapar Mandal (traders’ association), as saying: “It was a massive blast, its tremors could be felt as far as 700 to 900 metres away. Buildings shook as if an earthquake had struck…there were bodies lying on the road — someone’s arm in one place, someone’s head in another.”

Visuals showed towering flames rising from at least one car and smoke enveloping several damaged vehicles.

Eyewitnesses described a moment of chaos as the blast ripped through the tightly packed neighbourhood. “I was at the gurdwara when I heard a strong sound. It was so loud that we couldn’t make out what had happened,” said one local resident. “Several vehicles nearby were completely damaged.”

Police and forensic teams are examining the site to determine the cause of the explosion. Authorities have not ruled out any possibility and said further details will be shared after preliminary analysis.

With PTI inputs