Delhi Red Fort Blast: A powerful explosion near Lal Qila Metro Station in Delhi’s Red Fort area on Monday evening left eight people dead and 24 injured, authorities said. The blast, which occurred in a car near Gate Number 1 of the Metro station, also caused fire damage to three to four other vehicles in the crowded area.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah has spoken with senior Delhi Police officers and is closely monitoring developments, sources added. The National Investigation Agency (NIA) and National Security Guard (NSG) teams are expected to reach the site shortly to investigate the incident from a terror angle.
Several casualties have been rushed to Lok Nayak Jai Prakash (LNJP) Hospital, where officials confirmed eight fatalities and multiple injuries.
Delhi Police have restricted access to Gate Numbers 1 and 4 of Lal Qila while cordoning off the area. Metro services are continuing as normal across the network. A high alert has been issued across Delhi, with similar precautions in Mumbai and Uttar Pradesh.
According to the Delhi Fire Services, seven fire tenders were deployed to douse fires triggered in the vehicles. Eyewitnesses described scenes of panic, with one injured auto driver telling PTI, “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.”
The Red Fort area, a popular tourist destination just 1.1 km from Jama Masjid and a few hundred metres from Gurdwara Sis Ganj Sahib, witnessed significant disruption due to the blast.
