New Delhi: Those responsible for Monday’s blast near the Red Fort in Delhi will be “brought to justice and not be spared”, declared India’s Defence Minister Rajnath Singh Tuesday.
Singh’s remarks came as the death toll in the blast Monday evening rose to 12, while several others remain injured. Union Home Minister Amit Shah visited the blast site late Monday, as investigators have zeroed in on a doctor—Dr Umar U. Nabi—from Jammu and Kashmir’s Pulwama as a key suspect in the attack.
“From this platform, I wish to assure my fellow citizens that the country’s leading investigative agencies are conducting a swift and thorough inquiry into the incident. The findings of the investigation will soon be made public,” Singh said, while speaking at the Delhi Defence Dialogue organised by the Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (MP-IDSA).
The defence minister 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.” Singh also extended his “heartfelt condolences” to the families of those who lost their lives in the attack in the national capital.
A white Hyundai i20 exploded near the historic monument around 7 pm Monday evening. Investigators have identified Dr Umar, a doctor from Jammu and Kashmir, as a key suspect and is believed to have perished in the attack, as reported by ThePrint.
Dr Umar is reported to have worked at the Government Medical College in Anantnag, and was last employed at the Faridabad’s Al-Falah School of Medical Sciences and Research Centre.
Nabi is allegedly a part of a Jaish-e-Mohammad’s (JeM) terror module operating out of Faridabad and the Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind (AGuH), a Jammu and Kashmir-specific wing of the internationally proscribed organisation—al-Qaeda.
A few hours before the blast near Red Fort, Jammu and Kashmir police, along with the Haryana Police, had recovered around 2,500 kilograms of IED-making material Monday at a premise rented by Dr Muzammil Shakeel at Fatehpur Taga village in Faridabad district, Haryana.
Amongst the explosives retrieved by the authorities included around 350 kilograms of highly inflammable material. Before the raids at Shakeel’s rented premises, another individual, Dr Adeel Ahmed Rathar was also under investigations by the authorities.
The attack has led to a number of state police chiefs to issue alerts, including in New Delhi and Mumbai. Other states including Uttar Pradesh and poll-bound Bihar have been put on alert.
Amit Shah earlier Tuesday morning chaired a high-level security review meeting at his residence. Home Secretary Govind Mohan, Director of the Intelligence Bureau, the Director of the National Investigation Agency and Delhi Police Commissioner were all present at the meeting.