Security has been beefed up in Delhi after fresh intelligence inputs warned of a possible terror attack in areas near the Red Fort, months after a similar strike in the same zone left 13 people dead.
Sources said intelligence inputs indicated that the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) was planning to target areas near the Red Fort, including Chandni Chowk, one of the busiest parts of the capital.
“The warning points to a plot by the Lashkar-e-Toiba, which may be planning to target crowded religious and heritage sites in old Delhi. Based on the input, security has been beefed up in the vicinity of the Red Fort and nearby areas,” said a security official.
According to him, central agencies and Delhi police units were maintaining close coordination, and surveillance had been intensified through CCTV monitoring, vehicle checks and deployment of additional personnel at vulnerable points. Bomb disposal squads, dog squads and quick-reaction teams have also been placed on standby at strategic locations, they added.
“The intelligence inputs are being verified and assessed. Security has been stepped up in and around sensitive religious places and crowded public areas,” the official said.
The latest alert came nearly three months after the explosion near the Red Fort, one of the most devastating terror attacks in Delhi in recent years. An explosives-laden Hyundai i20 detonated near the Red Fort Metro station, killing 13 people and injuring more than 20. The explosion also set several nearby vehicles on fire.
Three doctors working at the Haryana-based Al Falah University were allegedly part of the “white-collar terror” ecosystem involving radicalised professionals linked with the Jaish-e-Mohammad.