Car blast near Delhi's Red Fort kills 9, injures several

Only 2 victims identified; home minister Shah meets injured at hospital

- Jignasa Sinha, Karn Pratap Singh & Ridhima Gupta

At least nine people were killed and 21 injured on Monday after an explosion in a slow-moving car ripped through a clutch of vehicles on an arterial road near the historic Red Fort in Delhi during the evening rush hour.

Police said the blast took place at 6.52pm when the white Hyundai i20 stopped at a traffic signal, close to the Red Fort metro station in the heart of old Delhi, and the ensuing blaze engulfed at least six cars, two e-rickshaws, one auto and a bus. But it didn't specify the reason for the explosion, the circumstances around the incident, or whether it was a terror attack.

"This evening, around 7 pm, a blast occurred in a Hyundai i20 car at the Subhash Marg traffic signal near the Red Fort in Delhi...We are exploring all possibilities and will conduct a thorough investigation, taking all possibilities into account," said Union home minister Amit Shah. He added that teams from the Delhi Crime Branch and Delhi Special Branch arrived at the spot within 10 minutes of receiving information about the blast and that the National Security Guard, National Investigation Agency and Forensic Science Laboratory were investigating.

Gurugram Police and the Union home ministry said the car, whose mangled wreckage was found at the spot and partial number plate recalled by eyewitnesses, was registered in Gurugram in Haryana to a man identified as Salman.