New Delhi: Teams from Delhi Police’s Special Cell and National Investigation Agency, who rushed to the Israel Embassy in New Delhi Tuesday, after receiving a call about an alleged blast there, failed to find any trace of blast, or explosives, but recovered an “abusive letter” addressed to Ambassador of Israel to India, Naor Gilon, ThePrint has learnt.
Delhi police sources said that a flag was also recovered from the scene, but did not divulge any details about it. According to the sources, while some people in the vicinity claimed to have heard the sound of a blast, initial inspection of the site failed to confirm it. A probe into the matter is still on.
In a statement to the media, Israel’s Deputy Ambassador to India, Ohad Nakash Kaynar, said, “This evening several minutes after 5 [PM], an explosion occurred in close proximity of the Embassy. All our diplomats and workers are safe. Our security teams are working in full cooperation with local Delhi security and they will investigate the matter further.”
The incident comes amid Israel’s ongoing conflict with Palestinian terror group, Hamas.
In a statement, Delhi Police spokesperson Kumar Gyanesh said senior officers of the force rushed to the Israel Embassy after the police was alerted at 5.53 PM about a loud sound heard from the Prithviraj Road side of the Embassy.
“In close follow-up, dog squad, crime team and BDS [bomb disposal squad] team of Delhi Police reached the spot where the alleged sound of the explosion was reported to have been heard. Soon, experts from FSL [Forensic Science Laboraty], Delhi also reached; the area was cordoned off and subjected to thorough search,” said the police statement.
The statement added: “The experts have examined the spot, lifted exhibits that may have evidentiary relevance; the same are being sent for forensic examination.”
Gyanesh further said that probe in the matter is still on.
Meanwhile, police sources told ThePrint that the probe teams at the spot could not find signs of a blast or traces of the explosives in early rounds of inspection. However, the teams have “recovered an abusive letter” directed at the Ambassador of Israel to India, Naor Gilon.
“We suspect involvement of one or two individuals. We are scanning footage from CCTV cameras and analysing [mobile phone] tower dump data from the area of the embassy,” a source in Delhi Police told ThePrint.
According to the sources after police teams and bomb disposal squads left the site, a team from Israel Embassy also conducted their own inspection, accompanied by a few Delhi Police officers.
ThePrint has also reached also NIA spokesperson over phone and WhatsApp for comment. The report will be updated once a response is received.
(Edited by Poulomi Banerjee)
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