Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday (Nov 11) called a deadly car explosion in the heart of the capital a \u201cconspiracy\u201d, vowing those responsible will face justice.<\/p>\n
Police are yet to give exact details of what caused Monday\u2019s incident near the historic Red Fort, one of India\u2019s most well-known landmarks, and the site of the prime minister\u2019s annual Independence Day speech.<\/p>\n
The blast killed at least eight people, and 19 others were injured when flames ripped through several vehicles.<\/p>\n
It was the first significant security incident since a shooting attack in late April left 26 people, mainly Hindus, dead at the tourist site of Pahalgam in Indian-administered Kashmir, triggering clashes with Pakistan.<\/p>\n
\u201cI assure everyone that the agencies will get to the bottom of the entire conspiracy,\u201d Modi said in a speech during a state visit to neighbouring Bhutan, without giving further details.<\/p>\n
\u201cAll those involved will be brought to justice,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Indian authorities have stopped short of calling the blast an attack, saying they were awaiting forensic analysis.<\/p>\n
But on Tuesday, the home affairs ministry said that India\u2019s anti-terrorism force, the National Investigation Agency, are leading the probe.<\/p>\n
Monday\u2019s explosion came hours after Indian police said they had arrested a gang and seized explosive materials and assault rifles.<\/p>\n
Police said the men were linked with Jaish-e-Mohammed, a Pakistan-based Islamist group, and Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind, a Kashmir offshoot of the jihadist group Al-Qaeda.<\/p>\n
Both groups are listed as terrorist organisations in India.<\/p>\n
Home Minister Amit Shah, after chairing security talks following the blast, said he had instructed officials \u201cto hunt down each and every culprit behind this incident\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cEveryone involved in this act will face the full wrath of our agencies,\u201d he added in a statement.<\/p>\n
\u201cPEOPLE WERE BURNING\u201d<\/p>\n
New Delhi\u2019s deputy chief fire officer AK Malik told AFP shortly after the explosion that eight people had been killed.<\/p>\n
The Press Trust of India news agency reported on Tuesday that the death toll had risen to 12, although that figure has not been confirmed.<\/p>\n
Witnesses described to AFP how the car exploded in traffic and how people caught up in the surge of flames were set on fire.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople were on fire and we tried to save them … Cars and people were burning – people inside the cars were burning,\u201d said Dharmindra Dhaga, 27.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was telling the public to save them, rescue them, and get them out. The public was busy making videos and taking photos.\u201d<\/p>\n
The emergency ward at Delhi\u2019s LNJP hospital was chaotic after the explosion as wounded people streamed in and doctors rushed to treat them.<\/p>\n
In the attack in April in Pahalgam, Indian authorities were swift to accuse Pakistan of backing the gunmen – claims denied by Islamabad.<\/p>\n
That attack sparked clashes between the nuclear-armed arch rivals in May, when more than 70 people were killed in missile, drone and artillery exchanges before a ceasefire was struck.<\/p>\n
On Tuesday, after a suicide bomber in Islamabad killed at least 12 people, Pakistan\u2019s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif blamed \u201cterrorist proxies backed by India\u201d.<\/p>\n
He did not provide any evidence.<\/p>\n
India on Tuesday night said it rejected the \u201cbaseless and unfounded\u201d allegations made by an \u201cobviously delirious Pakistani leadership\u201d.<\/p>\n
Without directly referencing the Islamabad incident, foreign ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said in a statement that \u201cit is a predictable tactic by Pakistan to concoct false narratives against India in order to deflect the attention\u201d from its internal issues.<\/p>\n
Source: CNA<\/p>\n
–Agencies<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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