A massive explosion in a Hyundai i20 car near Delhi’s iconic Red Fort rocked the Indian capital on Monday evening, killing at least eight people and injuring around 20 others in what authorities are treating as a possible terror attack. The blast, which occurred just before 7 p.m. local time at a busy traffic signal outside Gate No. 1 of the Lal Qila Metro Station, sent shockwaves through the densely packed Old Delhi neighborhood, igniting several nearby vehicles and drawing a swift response from emergency services. As investigators comb through the wreckage, the arrest of the car’s previous owner—a man named Mohd Salman from Haryana—has fueled speculation about a broader conspiracy, with links emerging to a recently busted terror module in nearby Faridabad.

The incident unfolded around 6:52 p.m. when the slow-moving sedan, bearing Haryana registration plate HR26 CE 7674, came to a halt at the Subhash Marg signal near the 17th-century Mughal fortress. Witnesses described a deafening boom that shattered windows, felled streetlights and triggered a chain reaction of fires engulfing at least six cars and three auto-rickshaws. “It was like thunder, but worse—flames shot up everywhere, and people were screaming,” recounted Shahrukh, a local cab driver who was idling nearby. Delhi Police Commissioner Satish Golcha confirmed the toll in a late-night briefing, noting that the three occupants of the suspect vehicle were among the dead, though forensic teams are still working to identify remains. “An explosion happened in that vehicle, and due to the explosion, nearby vehicles were also damaged,” Golcha said, emphasizing that all angles—from mechanical failure to deliberate sabotage—are under scrutiny.

Emergency responders, including seven fire tenders, arrived within minutes, battling blazes that lit up the historic Chandni Chowk area—a bustling hub of markets, temples and tourists. The injured, ranging from pedestrians to commuters, were rushed to nearby Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital and other facilities, where doctors reported a mix of burns, shrapnel wounds and blast trauma. “We’ve stabilized most, but some are critical,” a hospital spokesperson told reporters. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, cutting short a review meeting, expressed condolences on X: “Heartbreaking to hear of the lives lost in the Delhi blast. My thoughts are with the families. May the injured recover soon. Authorities are providing all assistance.” Home Minister Amit Shah, meanwhile, directed a high-level security audit, placing Delhi’s metro system, airports and key installations on maximum alert.

The Red Fort, a UNESCO World Heritage site and symbol of India’s independence—where Modi delivers the nation’s August 15 address—escaped direct damage but was shuttered for three days by the Archaeological Survey of India to allow for safety checks. The blast site, cordoned off by paramilitary forces, became a hive of activity overnight: forensics experts in hazmat suits sifting debris, bomb-sniffing dogs patrolling and National Security Guard (NSG) commandos securing perimeters. Early indications point to a high-intensity improvised explosive device (IED), possibly packed with ammonium nitrate—a common ingredient in vehicle-borne attacks—though officials cautioned against premature conclusions.

Adding intrigue, the car’s provenance has thrust it into the spotlight. Traced back to multiple owners over the past year, the i20 was first registered to Mohd Salman, who was detained in Gurugram hours after the explosion. Salman, during initial questioning, claimed he had sold the vehicle months ago to Nadeem, another Haryana resident, who in turn offloaded it to Tariq—a man from Pulwama in Jammu and Kashmir’s volatile Kashmir Valley. Pulwama, site of a deadly 2019 suicide bombing that killed 40 CRPF personnel and sparked India’s airstrikes on Pakistan, immediately raised red flags. CCTV footage aired by NDTV showed the car idling near the Golden Mosque by the Red Fort for nearly three hours—from 3:19 p.m.—before lurching toward the metro gate at 6:48 p.m. A grainy clip captured a lone figure—believed to be Dr. Umar Mohammed, a Kashmiri doctor arrested days earlier in a Faridabad terror bust—behind the wheel, his face obscured but demeanor tense.

That Faridabad connection is no coincidence. On Sunday, Haryana Police, acting on intelligence inputs, raided a terror cell allegedly tied to Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed, seizing 2,900 kilograms of ammonium nitrate, AK-47 rifles and IED components enough for “hundreds of blasts,” per sources. Among the eight arrested were three doctors—Adeel Ahmad Rather, Muzammil Shakeel and Umar Mohammed—from Kashmir, all with clean professional records but suspected of funneling funds and expertise to militants. Rather and Shakeel were nabbed in Saharanpur and Faridabad; Umar, however, is now presumed to be the suicide bomber, his body charred beyond easy recognition. “Forensic confirmation is awaited, but the timeline fits,” a senior investigator told India Today anonymously. No direct link has been established yet, but the probe—now under the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and anti-terror laws—treats it as a fidayeen-style operation gone awry, possibly detonated prematurely en route to a denser target like the fort itself or nearby Chandni Chowk markets.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, addressing the nation Tuesday morning, vowed swift retribution: “Those responsible for this tragedy will be brought to justice and will not be spared under any circumstances.” His words echoed across social media, where #DelhiBlast trended with over 500,000 posts by dawn, blending grief-stricken tributes—”Prayers for Old Delhi’s soul,” one user wrote—with outrage over security lapses. Opposition voices, including Congress leader Priyank Kharge, slammed it as an “intelligence failure under Modi,” pointing to Amit Shah’s absence in Bihar amid the crisis. BJP allies, however, rallied behind the government’s zero-tolerance stance, with Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta briefing PM Modi on containment measures.

This blast revives painful memories of Delhi’s terror-scarred past. The 1980s and ’90s saw Islamist militants and Sikh separatists target markets and transport hubs, like the 1993 serial bombings that killed 12 or the 2005 Diwali blasts claiming 62 lives. More recently, a 2011 Delhi High Court briefcase bomb killed 11, and the 2019 Pulwama attack exposed vulnerabilities in Kashmir-linked plots. Experts note a shift: post-Article 370 abrogation in 2019, overt attacks in the Valley dropped, but “sleeper cells” in urban India—often leveraging professionals like doctors—have proliferated, as seen in the 2023 Coimbatore car blast. “This feels like a white-collar terror pivot—educated radicals funding black-market arms,” observed counter-terror analyst Ajai Sahni.

As dawn broke over the cordoned site Tuesday, cleanup crews hauled away twisted metal while grief enveloped the victims’ kin. Among the dead: a street vendor, two office workers and a tourist from Uttar Pradesh, per preliminary IDs. Vigils sprang up at Gauri Shankar Temple, mere yards from the carnage, with locals lighting diyas for the lost. Security has rippled outward—Jammu and Kashmir on high alert, Uttar Pradesh sealing borders and airports scanning for anomalies.

The investigation’s next phase hinges on digital trails: the car’s prior challan for illegal parking in Faridabad on September 20, call records from the arrested doctors and traces of the explosives. Eight more detentions overnight, tied to Umar Mohammed, suggest a web unraveling. For Delhi’s 30 million residents, the fort’s red sandstone walls—once a testament to empire—now frame a stark reminder: in a city of contrasts, peace remains fragile.

Yet amid the ashes, resilience flickers. As one X user posted amid the chaos: “Delhi weeps, but Delhi endures.” With the NIA leading and international partners like the U.S. offering intel, the hunt intensifies. Justice, Singh promised, is coming—and in India’s terror-weary heart, that’s no small vow.