Delhi Red Fort Blast | Probe Underway

Delhi Red Fort Blast | Security Tightened Across Capital

The Delhi Red Fort blast on Monday evening sent shockwaves across the national capital, shattering the city’s evening rush-hour calm. At least thirteen people were killed and several others injured after a car exploded outside Gate No. 1 of the Red Fort Metro Station, just metres from the historic monument. The explosion occurred inside a moving Hyundai i20 car. Multiple agencies — including the Delhi Police, Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL), National Investigation Agency (NIA), and National Security Guard (NSG) — are jointly investigating the Delhi Red Fort blast, which officials have described as one of the most serious attacks in recent years.

Car Involved in Delhi Red Fort Blast Exchanged Multiple Hands

Investigators probing the Delhi Red Fort blast have traced the white Hyundai i20, bearing registration number HR26CE7674, through a complex chain of ownership stretching across several states. The car, manufactured in 2013, was first registered in 2014 under the name of Salman, a resident of Gurugram, listed as its second owner. When contacted after the Red Fort blast, Salman told the police he had sold the vehicle to a man from Okhla.

From there, the car reportedly changed hands several more times — passing through Ambala before eventually ending up in Pulwama, Jammu and Kashmir. Despite the multiple transactions, records show the vehicle remained registered in Salman’s name. According to investigators, such informal sales are not unusual in the second-hand automobile market, where re-registration is often avoided to sidestep documentation and transfer fees.

Investigations into the Delhi Red Fort blast are underway to uncover the terrorist network and module responsible for the deadly attack. The Delhi Police have detained several suspects, and interrogations are in progress to trace the masterminds behind the explosion. A formal case has been registered in connection with the blast under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), the Explosives Act, and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). According to officials, the FIR has been filed under Sections 16 and 18 of the UAPA, along with relevant provisions of the Explosives Act and BNS, at the Kotwali Police Station. 

Investigators probing the blast say that CCTV footage shows the Hyundai i20 (registration HR 26CE 7674) entering a parking lot adjacent to the monument around 3:19 pm and exiting about 6:48 pm on Monday. The vehicle was parked for nearly three hours, during which a lone occupant appears to have stayed inside. 

A Chain of Events Before the Delhi Red Fort blast

The Delhi Red Fort blast on Monday evening comes against a backdrop of sweeping counter-terror operations in the region. Earlier, the Jammu & Kashmir Police (J&K Police), in coordination with the Haryana Police and other agencies, uncovered a major terror module, recovering around 2,900 kg of IED-making materials from multiple locations. This included about 360 kg of suspected ammonium nitrate seized from a rented flat in Dhauj village, Faridabad, where police also found rifles, pistols, timers, wires, and other bomb-making components.

In parallel, the J&K Police launched coordinated raids across ten districts — including Baramulla, Ganderbal, Anantnag and Shopian — detaining nearly 100 people, conducting over 70 searches, and targeting a so-called “white-collar terror ecosystem” of professionals and students linked to banned organisations.

These operations were driven by intelligence that radicalised individuals, including medical professionals, were participating in cross-state logistics, arms procurement and terror-planning. The timing of the Red Fort explosion, just hours after the major explosives haul, raises serious questions about operational links and coordinated intent.