New Delhi, 10 Nov

A high-intensity explosion ripped through a car near the Red Fort metro station on Monday evening, gutting several vehicles and killing at least eight people, officials said.

In first response after the car explosion, Delhi Police commissioner Satish Golcha on Monday said the blast took place in a slow-moving vehicle near the Red Fort traffic signal.

Talking to reporters at the blast site, he confirmed multiple deaths and injuries, and said Union Home Minister Amit Shah was being regularly briefed about the incident.

"There was a blast around 6.52 pm in a slow moving vehicle near Red Fort. There were passengers inside the vehicle," Golcha said, adding other vehicles were damaged in the incident.

Earlier, officials said that the explosion happened inside a parked car.

The police commissioner said all agencies, including Delhi Police, forensic team, NIA, NSG, are taking stock of the situation.

"Some deaths happened, few people got injured. The situation is being regularly monitored. The home minister is being regularly briefed," he said.

Twenty-four people were injured in the blast that took place at a time when the area was milling with people. The injured were taken to the LNJP hospital a few kilometres away.

Videos shared by the Chandni Chowk Traders' Association showed the magnitude of the blast. A body could be seen lying on a vehicle. Another video showed a body lying on the road. Eyewitnesses said body parts could be seen scattered near the blast site.

A high alert has been sounded in Delhi. Ten fire tenders were rushed to the spot with police cordoning off the area, the Delhi Fire Services said. The fire, officials said, was brought under control by 7.29 pm.

"Six cars, two e-rickshaws and one autorickshaw were gutted in the fire," said a fire department official.

A team of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) reached the spot.

The blast was so powerful that it shattered the windows of vehicles parked several metres away. The sound was heard at ITO a few kilometres away.

"The blast occurred in a car parked near Red Fort metro station gate number 1. The intensity was quite high. Injuries are feared," said a senior official of Delhi Fire Service.

Visuals of the incident showed plumes of fire billowing from the burning cars.

Panic gripped the area as several vehicles were seen damaged at the spot following the loud explosion.

An injured eyewitness, who suffered a wound on his forehead, said the explosion appeared to have originated from a car, probably a Swift.

“There was a Swift car in front of my auto. There was something in that car that suddenly blasted,” he said.

Another witness said, “I was at the gurdwara when I heard a strong sound. We couldn’t make out what it was, it was that loud.”

“A number of vehicles nearby were completely damaged,” he added.

Sanjay Bhargaw, president of the Chandni Chowk Traders Association, whose shop is about 800 metres away from the incident site, said the entire building shook due to the blast.

There was chaos in the market as people started running, he shared.

The blast came hours after the recovery of around 360 kg of suspected ammonium nitrate and a cache of arms and ammunition from a Kashmiri doctor’s rented accommodation in nearby Faridabad

Haryana Police, in coordination with their Jammu and Kashmir counterparts, arrested Dr Muzammil Ganaie from Faridabad’s Dhauj area recovered explosive materials, weapons, and timers from his rented house.

Eight people, including three doctors, were arrested and 2,900 kg of explosives seized with the uncovering of a “white collar” terror module involving the Jaish-e-Mohammed and Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind and spanning Kashmir, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, officials said.

Among those arrested following a 15-day operation were Kashmir's Dr Ganaie in Faridabad and Dr Shaheen, a woman doctor from Lucknow, who was taken by air to Srinagar for custodial interrogation, officials said. An AK-47 rifle was found in her car.