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Police investigating the car explosion outside Delhi’s historic Red Fort that killed eight people are focusing on the final movements of the vehicle involved.
The explosion on Monday occurred at about 7pm, a peak time when Delhi’s old city is usually packed with people and traffic.
The Delhi police commissioner, Satish Golcha, said the explosion happened after a “slow-moving vehicle” stopped at a red light outside the Red Fort metro station.
The blast started a fire that ripped through nearby cars, motorcycles and rickshaws and it shattered the windows of a Sikh place of worship 500 metres away. As well as the eight people killed, about 20 were injured.
In a speech on Tuesday, India’s prime minister, Narendra Modi, said those responsible would be brought to justice. “The conspirators behind this will not be spared. All those responsible will be brought to justice,” Modi said.
Witnesses said they saw limbs ripped from bodies and scattered on the roads. “I saw the car explode while it was moving,” Dharmindra Dhaga, 27, told Agence France-Presse. “People were on fire and we tried to save them … Cars and people were burning – people inside the cars were burning.”
Jai, 49, a shopkeeper, said the blast was so loud it damaged his hearing. “I heard a noise so loud my ears got blocked. Then I saw car parts flying and scattered body parts,” he said.
The cause of the blast remained unknown by Tuesday morning as forensic teams and investigators from Delhi police special branch and the National Investigation Agency, which handles terror cases, scoured the site. Delhi police said they had filed a case under India’s draconian anti-terror law, the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
According to reports, four people have been arrested in connection with the incident.
In an address on Tuesday morning, the defence minister, Rajnath Singh, said: “The country’s leading investigative agencies are conducting a swift and thorough inquiry into the incident. Findings of the investigation will soon be made public.”
He added: “I want to firmly assure the nation that those responsible for this tragedy will be brought to justice and will not be spared under any circumstances.”
According to reports, investigators have turned their focus to the final movements of the vehicle in which the explosion is believed to have originated. On Monday night, two people were detained who were linked to the Hyundai car, which was registered in the neighbouring state of Haryana.
CCTV footage is reported to show the car driving into a car park in the Old Delhi area close to the Red Fort at about 3pm and remaining there for around three hours while the driver – who appeared to be wearing a mask – stayed in the vehicle.
The home minister, Amit Shah, said officials were “investigating all possible angles” and it would be “very difficult to say what caused the incident” until forensic samples had been analysed.
India remains on high alert, with extra security measures imposed at airports and along border areas. The financial capital, Mumbai, was also put under high alert.
