The Union home ministry on Tuesday handed over the investigation into Monday’s car blast near Delhi’s Red Fort to the National Investigation Agency (NIA), further boosting speculation that it was a terrorist attack.
In Pulwama, family members of Dr Umar Nabi — who is suspected to have been driving the Hyundai i20 car that exploded — said the news had left them devastated and bewildered.
“He was an introvert since childhood, focused on his studies and work, and never had many friends,” Muzamil, his sister-in-law, told PTI.
Umar had called home last Friday to say he was busy with examinations and would return in three days.
“We struggled a lot for his education so he could take care of himself and the family. This is unbelievable,” Muzamil said, recalling that Umar had last visited Kashmir only two months ago.
Multiple news agencies have reported and The Telegraph Online’s sources in the Delhi police have also said that initial forensic reports indicated the use of ammonium nitrate, fuel oil, and detonators — substances linked to over 2,900 kg of explosives and inflammables seized on Monday in Faridabad.
Authorities have registered an FIR under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and the Explosives Act for conspiracy and execution of a terror attack, but full forensic reports are awaited.
Delhi blast ‘felt like an earthquake’
The blast on Monday evening shook the densely populated and historically significant neighbourhood surrounding the Red Fort, leaving citizens reeling.
According to eyewitnesses, the explosion felt like an earthquake, scattering body parts and debris for several hundred metres, even reaching the Jain Mandir compound.
Karamjot, a Chandni Chowk shopkeeper, described seeing “a large number of people running,” while another, J.P. Mishra, recounted the horror of finding body parts around the Mandir, some “even under my feet.”
Fear grips Delhi, survivors recall chaos
Karmayta Devi described to PTI how the ground shook and her son was traumatised by the sight of corpses.
Young Priya, a girl living nearby, said the force of the blast brought down cement from her ceiling; her school was closed in the aftermath. Shopkeepers were worried about financial losses in the weeks ahead, as fear and disbelief lingered over the area.
Survivors like Ram Pratap and Vijender Yadav, both from Bihar, described how the evening calm turned abruptly into carnage and chaos.
Pratap, who runs a roadside eatery, was closing for the day when glass shards and thick smoke enveloped the area after a deafening explosion.
“People were lying on the road, bleeding, not moving. I did not even realise my hand was bleeding; I saw death from up close,” he told PTI.
Outside the hospital, Pratap’s relative described frantic efforts to locate missing family members among the devastation and confusion, as “people were shouting names, crying, searching for their families.”
Just metres away, Yadav had parked his water tanker before being thrown to the ground by the blast:
“When I got up, my clothes were soaked in blood. Bodies and glass fragments were everywhere.”
The sound of the blast remains vivid in his memory, and concern for his wife and daughters in Bihar weighed heavily as he recounted, “this fear will stay with me forever.”
NIA gets charge of investigation
With the NIA taking charge, the probe’s focus now shifts to linking the car used in the explosion to the wider terror module.
Local police, under guidance from central agencies, continue to gather evidence and await the final forensic reports that could shed light on the motive and mechanics of the attack.
The city remains anxious, still grappling with disbelief and grief over the tragedy and fearing further disruption to daily life and business as the investigation proceeds.
The terrorist-attack theory has gained further credence with Prime MInister Narendra Modi vowing from Bhutan – where he is visiting – that “all those responsible” for the “conspiracy” behind the blast will be brought to justice.