Delhi cop who first saw blast: Heard loud bang, vehicles engulfed in flames

In the heart of the capital, where the hum of evening traffic usually mingles with the chatter of passersby, chaos erupted near Delhi’s historic Red Fort on Monday when a parked Hyundai i20 — its number plate tracing back to Haryana — exploded in a deafening blast. The sudden inferno tore through the calm, killing at least 13 people and leaving dozens wounded, their cries echoing through the narrow lanes as flames consumed nearby vehicles.

Among the first on the scene was sub-inspector Vinod Nayan, stationed at the Red Fort police post, who later became the first witness to record his account in the FIR lodged at Kotwali Police Station. “I heard a loud explosion… I came outside and saw vehicles on fire,” he recalled in his report. Without hesitation, Nayan and his team rushed toward the blaze, pulling the injured from the wreckage and ferrying them to nearby hospitals even as the air hung thick with smoke and panic.

The case has been registered under Sections 16 and 18 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, along with provisions of the Explosives Act and multiple sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) — a clear indication of the gravity with which investigators are treating the incident.

Red Fort blast car was parked at Sunehri Masjid lot for two hours

As the city trembles under heightened alert, the Delhi Police have sealed Gate Nos. 1 and 4 of the Lal Qila Metro Station, transforming the bustling heritage zone into a fortress of barricades and flashing sirens. Security has been intensified not just in Delhi but across Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and Mumbai, with patrols sweeping crowded marketplaces and places of worship.

What adds to the chilling puzzle is its timing — the blast came just hours after police in Faridabad busted a Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) and Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind terror module, recovering a staggering 2,900 kilograms of explosives and a cache of weapons. Investigators now suspect a desperate act of retaliation, possibly triggered by the recent arrests of two Jammu and Kashmir doctors, Adil Ahmad Rather and Muzammil, both allegedly linked to the same terror network.

As investigators sift through fragments of metal and memory, Delhi stands on edge — its skyline glowing under the uneasy glare of blue police lights, and its people gripped by the fear that the peace they took for granted can be shattered in a single, thunderous moment.

With IANS inputs

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