Delhi blast: Case registered under UAPA, death toll touches 12

Delhi: Hours after the car explosion that killed 12 people near Delhi’s Red Fort, Delhi police have registered a case under various sections of Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) and  Explosives Act which deal with punishment and conspiracy of a terror attack. Various sections of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita are also charged. Though it is rumoured that a terrorist attack rocked Delhi, the officials have not confirmed it yet.

The police have confirmed that the death toll touched 12 after three more people succumbed to their injuries on Tuesday morning. 

According to a senior police officer, an FIR has been registered at the Kotwali police station under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), the Explosives Act and sections of the BNS.

It has been filed under Sections of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967, including Section 16 (punishment for terrorist acts) and Section 18 (punishment for conspiracy).

Additionally, charges under the Explosive Substances Act, specifically Section 3 for causing an explosion likely to endanger life and Section 4 for the attempt to cause an explosion, have been added.

The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) has been applied, including Sections 103(1) for murder, 109(1) for attempt to murder, and 161(2) for the abetment of assault on a superior officer.

Sources said the Delhi Police, in its First Information Report (FIR) lodged in connection with the blast near Red Fort, stated, "This is a bomb blast". The FIR also mentions that the wall of a Delhi Police chowki was damaged in the explosion.

The complainant in the FIR is the chowki in charge of the Red Fort, Vinod Nain.

According to the FIR, "There was a loud explosion. The wall of the chowki collapsed due to the explosion. The police staff rushed to the site and witnessed cars that were burning, while the injured were lying on the road. All the injured were taken to a hospital."

Police have revealed crucial details from CCTV footage that tracked the suspect vehicle’s movements hours before the explosion. According to Delhi Police sources, CCTV footage shows that the white i20 car was parked near the Red Fort parking area at around 3.19 pm, remaining there for nearly three hours before it exited the parking at approximately 6.48 pm.

The car was seen leaving the parking area at a time when there was heavy crowd movement in the vicinity, police officials said.

The footage is being closely examined to determine who brought the vehicle to the parking area, who entered or exited the car, and who later drove it out. Investigators are also tracing the vehicle’s full route, from where it originated, how it reached the Red Fort parking, and how it later proceeded toward the traffic signal located directly in front of the monument.

Police officials confirmed that over 100 CCTV clips are being analyzed, including footage from nearby roads and parking toll plazas, to map the vehicle’s journey and identify the suspect. “The suspect appears to be alone in the footage,” Delhi Police sources said, adding that the route toward Daryaganj is now under examination.

Investigators will also question the parking attendant on duty at the time to gather more information about the car’s arrival and departure.

A team of forensic experts visited the site and collected the samples for detailed examination. Addressing the media, FSL officer Mohamad Wahid said that the reason behind the blast would be confirmed only after the examination. 

A total of 20 people including two women were injured after a high intensity explosion ripped through a slow-moving car at a traffic signal near Red Fort metro station on Monday evening. Several vehicles were gutted in the impact of the explosion. Police said that they are also probing whether it was a suicide bomber attack. 

The Delhi Police detained car owner Mohd. Salman late in the evening and questioned him about the vehicle, the officer said, adding that he sold it to a person in Okhla namely Devendra one-and-a-half years ago.

Later, the vehicle was sold to someone in Ambala and it was again sold to a man named Tariq in Pulwama, and police are tracing the people, the officer said.

A high alert has been sounded in Delhi, and security has been beefed up at city border points, with vehicle checking intensified.

Meanwhile, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said a detailed analysis of the blast will be conducted with top security officers on Tuesday.

"Tomorrow morning, we will hold a detailed analysis of the blast with senior officers at the home ministry," Shah told reporters after meeting those injured in the blast at the LNJP Hospital.

He added that top investigating agencies are probing the incident, and will go in-depth into the blast.

High alert across country
Apart from Delhi, a high alert is sounded in several states including Kerala, Uttarakhand, Haryana, Punjab and Maharasthra. Kerala Police have intensified security checks at sensitive locations across the state, including railway stations and bus terminals. Dog squads and bomb disposal units have been deployed as part of the enhanced security measures, police officials said.

In Bengaluru, police have issued a citywide alert and directed all deputy commissioners of police (DCPs) to intensify security measures across the city.

In a memorandum, the Commissioner of Police instructed that Nakabandis (checkposts) be set up across all police station limits and thorough checks of suspicious persons and vehicles be conducted.

Inspections at hotels, lodges, PG accommodations, and other places of stay within police limits must be conducted; surveillance should be kept and identities of suspicious persons verified, the memorandum said.

Heightened patrolling has been ordered around key sensitive installations, prohibited and restricted areas, government offices, metro stations, railway stations, bus stations, shopping malls, hotels, airports, crowded areas, commercial complexes, residential areas and parking zones.
(With PTI inputs)