Delhi Red Fort blast toll mounts to 12; NIA to probe as terror link suspected

The death toll in the blast near Red Fort rose to 12 with three more people succumbing to injuries police said on TuesdayA powerful explosion ripped through a slowmoving car at a traffic signal near the Red Fort metro station on Monday evening Till Monday night nine people were confirmed to have died in the blast and 20 others were injured officials saidPolice on Tuesday investigated the Red Fort blast as a possible terror attack and zeroed in on a Pulwama doctor who was driving the car that exploded and had links to a terror module busted with the recovery of explosives mainly from FaridabadCar driver identified as Dr Umar Nabi PICXShivanChananaCalling the explosion ldquoa bomb blastrdquo the Delhi Police has invoked sections pertaining to conspiracy and punishment for a terror attack under the Unlawful Activities Prevention ActRaids are being conducted at multiple locations by the Delhi Police The national capital has been placed on high alert with strict vigil being maintained at the airport railway stations and bus terminalsAccording to a senior police officer an FIR has been registered at the Kotwali police station under the UAPA the Explosives Act and sections of the BNSNIA takes over probeThe Ministry of Home Affairs MHA on Tuesday handed over the probe into a blast near the Red Fort to the National Investigation Agency NIA sources saidThis is a clear indication that the blast is being considered by the government as an act of terror as the NIA is mandated to probe terror cases onlyldquoThe blast case has been handed over to the NIArdquo a source saidCar came from FaridabadThe Delhi Police has traced the 11hour route taken by the Hyundai i20 car that was used in a blast revealing the vehiclersquos movement from Haryanarsquos Faridabad to the national capitalRelatives of a man who died in the blast express sorrow PICPTIAccording to the sources CCTV footage and data obtained from a toll plaza have helped the investigators piece together a detailed timeline of the vehiclersquos movementThe car began its journey from Faridabad early Monday morning and meandered through several parts of Delhi before it detonated near the Red Fort metro station around 652 pm on Monday the sources saidDriver identifiedPolice on Tuesday identified the driver of the car as Dr Umar Nabi from Pulwama Umar also connected to Al Falah and believed to be driving the Hyundai i20 car allegedly carried out the terror attack as he feared he might be caught like his fellow doctors officials saidEight people including three doctors were arrested on Monday and 2900 kg of explosives were seized with the uncovering of a ldquowhite collarrdquo terror module involving the JaisheMohammed and Ansar GhazwatulHind Among those arrested following a 15day operation were Kashmirrsquos Dr Muzammil Ganaie in Faridabad and Lucknowrsquos Dr Shaheen SayeedDNA testThe Jammu and Kashmir police questioned the driverrsquos family and also took the DNA of Umarrsquos mother ldquoWe have taken the mother of the suspect to collect DNA samples in order to match with the parts found at the scene of the blastrdquo an official said hereNabirsquos sisterinlaw Muzamil said the family cannot believe that he could be involved in terror activitiesShe said her brotherinlaw was an introvert right from his childhood and used to focus on his studies and work She insisted that Umar was not the kind of person to get involved in terror activitiesHM chairs security meetingsUnion Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday instructed the security agencies to hunt down each and every culprit behind the Delhi blast that claimed 12 lives He said everyone involved will face the full wrath of security agenciesShah said this after chairing two subsequent security review meetingsldquoChaired review meetings on the Delhi car blast with the senior officials Instructed them to hunt down each and every culprit behind this incident Everyone involved in this act will face the full wrath of our agenciesrdquo he wrote on XThe first meeting was attended by Union Home Secretary Govind Mohan Director of Intelligence Bureau Tapan Deka Delhi Police Commissioner Satish Golcha and NIA DG Sadanand Vasant DateDGP of Jammu and Kashmir Nalin Prabhat also attended the meeting virtually During the meeting top officials gave detailed presentations on the situation in the aftermath of the blast sources saidPM warns conspiratorsThe conspirators behind the Delhi car blast will not be spared as the probe agencies investigating it will get to the bottom of the case to bring those responsible for it to justice Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Tuesday The PM said throughout Monday night he was in touch with the probe agencies investigating the blastWorld leaders condole deathsUS China Sri Lanka the Maldives Israel Ireland Bhutan and Nepal on Tuesday said they were ldquodeeply saddenedrdquo by the tragic loss of lives in the explosionUS State DepartmentldquoOur hearts are with those affected by the terrible explosion in New Delhi We continue to closely monitor the situation Our sincere condolences to the families who lost their loved onesrdquoLin JianChinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson ldquoWe are shocked by the incidentrdquoAnura Kumara DissanayakeSri Lankan PresidentldquoSaddened by news of the explosion in Delhi last evening Sri Lanka stands in solidarity with the people of India Our thoughts are with all those affectedrdquoMohamed MuizzuMaldives PresidentldquoOur heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families and good wishes for swift recovery of the injured The Maldives stands in solidarity with the peoplerdquoSushila KarkiNepalrsquos interim Prime MinisterldquoNepal stands in solidarity with India in this hour of grief Deepest condolences to the bereaved families and prayers for the speedy recovery of the injuredrdquoGideon SarsquoarIsraelrsquos Foreign MinisterExtended his deepest condolences to the people of India especially to the families of the innocent victims killed in the blast ldquoIsrael stands with India in its fight against terrorrdquoSimon HarrisIrelandrsquos Deputy Prime MinisterldquoOur thoughts are with all those who lost their lives the injured and their families We offer our full support and solidarity with the people and Government of India at this difficult timerdquoThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever