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NEW DELHI: Indian police are probing a deadly car blast in the capital Delhi under a law used to fight “terrorism,” an officer said on Tuesday, as forensic experts sought evidence to establish the cause of the first such blast in the city in more than a decade.
The law, called the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, is India’s main anti-terrorism law. It is used to investigate and prosecute acts related to “terrorism” and activities that threaten the sovereignty and integrity of the country.
The explosion near the historic Red Fort on Monday evening killed at least eight people and injured 20, a rare occurrence in recent years in the heavily guarded city of more than 30 million people. Several states and key facilities across the country were placed on high alert.
Search for evidence
Deputy Commissioner of Police Raja Banthia said that Delhi police had registered a case under the anti-terrorism law as well as the explosives act and other criminal laws.
“Investigation is at a preliminary stage and any comment on it will be too premature,” Banthia told reporters.
Near the site of the blast in the city’s old quarters, a busy market and tourist area, most shops that shut soon after the explosion were yet to open in the early hours of Tuesday.
Forensic experts were seen scouring the site of the blast, which has been sealed since Monday night and traffic restrictions imposed in the area.
Police said a slow-moving car which stopped at a traffic signal exploded just before 7 p.m. (1330 GMT). Nearby vehicles were also badly damaged.
The explosion left behind mangled bodies and the wreckage of several cars on a congested street near a metro station in the old quarter of Delhi.
There was no immediate information on the occupants of the car, who were presumed to have been killed. Police said they were tracing the owner of the car.
Federal Home Minister Amit Shah said on Monday “all angles” were being investigated and security agencies would come to a conclusion soon.
Relatives of the victims gathered outside the nearby Lok Nayak hospital to identify the bodies of their loved ones.
“We at least know that my cousin is here, whether he is injured or not or the extent of his injury, we don’t know anything,” said a distressed relative who did not want to be named.
Modi goes to Bhutan
The Red Fort, known locally as Lal Qila, is a sprawling, 17th-century Mughal-era edifice melding Persian and Indian architectural styles, and is visited by tourists throughout the year.
The prime minister also addresses the nation from the fort’s ramparts every year on August 15, India’s independence day.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi flew out to Bhutan on Tuesday morning on a scheduled visit to the Himalayan neighbor.
In April, Modi cut short a visit to ����ֱ�� and returned home after 26 men were killed in an attack on Hindu tourists in the Jammu and Kashmir territory.
New Delhi blamed that attack on what it called Islamist “terrorists” backed by Pakistan, a charge denied by Islamabad. The crisis led to the worst military conflict between the nuclear-armed rivals in decades before they agreed to a ceasefire after four days.