A powerful explosion tore through a car near Delhi’s iconic Red Fort on Friday evening, killing eight people and injuring at least 20 others. The blast occurred at 6:52 pm inside a Hyundai i20 near the Red Fort Metro Station, instantly reducing the vehicle to debris and damaging several cars around it. Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who was briefed immediately after the incident, said all possible motives were being examined before he headed to the site.

Delhi Police Commissioner Satish Golcha said the car had stopped at the traffic signal when the explosion took place. “There were passengers inside. The impact affected multiple nearby vehicles,” he told reporters. The car bore a Haryana registration number.

Teams from the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and the National Security Guard (NSG) have taken charge of the probe, with forensic experts already collecting samples from the scene.

Nationwide Alert

Following the blast, security was tightened across major cities including Mumbai, Kolkata, Jaipur, Hyderabad, Lucknow, Chandigarh, Amritsar, and several districts in Haryana and Punjab. Bihar, which goes to the polls on Saturday, was placed under heightened surveillance. Kerala police also ordered stricter checks across the state. Railway stations across India are on alert.

Shocking images from the scene showed bodies on the road, disfigured vehicles, and scattered debris. Deputy Chief Fire Officer AK Malik said seven fire tenders were rushed immediately, and the blaze was brought under control by 7:29 pm.

The usually crowded Red Fort area — a major tourist hub located in Old Delhi and adjacent to the bustling Chandni Chowk market — was quickly sealed off as police, paramilitary forces, and disaster teams flooded the area.

At Lok Nayak (LNJP) Hospital, ambulances carried victims through the evening as distraught family members waited for news.

PM Briefed, Investigation Intensifies

Prime Minister Narendra Modi was updated about the situation by Home Minister Amit Shah, government sources said. Shah noted that specialised teams from Delhi Police, NSG, NIA, and the Forensic Science Laboratory began work within minutes of the explosion.

He said all nearby CCTV cameras were being scanned. “We are examining every angle. A complete and transparent investigation will be conducted. I will visit the site and meet the injured,” Shah said before arriving at Red Fort and later LNJP Hospital.

Witness Accounts

Several eyewitnesses described scenes of chaos and a massive fireball.

Zeeshan, an autorickshaw driver injured in the blast, recalled, “The car ahead of me was barely two feet away. Suddenly there was a huge boom. I don’t know what caused it, but everything shook.”

Another resident said he saw a “giant ball of flames” from his rooftop. “The sound was so loud it rattled windows,” he added.

A man at a nearby gurdwara said the explosion was so intense that people initially couldn’t identify the source. “It felt like the ground shook,” he said.

Earlier Seizure of Explosives

The blast came on the same day police in Faridabad, just 50 km from Delhi, seized 2,900 kg of explosives — one of the largest hauls in recent years.