New Delhi: Union Home Minister Amit Shah Friday said the bomb blast outside the Red Fort in the national capital last month was carried out by terrorists using 40 kilograms of explosives.
He lauded the Jammu and Kashmir Police for carrying out an “excellent investigation” and recovering around three tonnes of explosives before terrorists could detonate them.
He made these remarks while inaugurating the annual two-day Anti-Terrorism Conference-2025 in New Delhi on Friday.
According to a home ministry spokesperson, “He (Amit Shah) said that the incident in Delhi happened with 40 kilograms of explosives, while 3 tonnes of explosives were recovered before they could detonate, and the entire team involved in conspiring this plot was apprehended.”
He referred to the investigations into the Red Fort explosion, that killed 15 people, and the Pahalgam terrorist attack, and said these cases represent instances of “watertight” probes conducted by Indian agencies.
Twenty-six tourists were killed by terrorists in the Baisaran meadows of Pahalgam in the Kashmir Valley in April this year.
“Shah added that the investigations into the Pahalgam and Delhi blast cases are not examples of routine policing, but outstanding instances of watertight investigation. This also serves as a very significant example of how a constantly vigilant officer can save the country from such a massive crisis,” the MHA spokesperson said, quoting Shah.
Ministers of State for Home Nityanand Rai and Bandi Sanjay Kumar were also in attendance at the Delhi event, alongside Research & Analysis Wing Secretary (Research) Parag Gupta, Union Home Secretary Govind Mohan, and National Investigation Agency ChiefSadanand Date.
At the conference, Shah also unveiled an updated crime manual and the first-ever databases on the Organised Crime Network, and on lost/looted and recovered weapons, both prepared by the NIA.
Shah urged police chiefs and senior officials from all states at the conference to form a dedicated team to review the NIA manuals, and use them in their investigations.
He also urged the top police officers from states and union territories to implement, as soon as possible, the common structure of the Anti-Terrorism Squad developed by the NIA to bring uniformity in the investigation of terrorism cases across the country.
He urged both the central agencies and the state police forces to improve communication and coordination further. He proposed regular discussions between officials of the Intelligence Bureau, the NIA and the Ministry of Home Affairs to bring a national-level framework for sharing information, technology, and data.
“Shah said that the central agencies and state police have made good use of technology at their respective levels, but technology developed in silos and data collected in silos are like a gun without bullets. It is better if all data can communicate with each other and are created using the same technology,” the MHA spokesman further said, quoting the minister.
(Edited by Ajeet Tiwari)
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