'We saw death up close': Survivors recall moments of horror from Red Fort blast

New Delhi: “People were lying on the road, some bleeding, some not moving at all. There was blood everywhere. We saw death from up close,” said Ram Pratap, lying on a hospital bed with his right arm tightly bandaged, recalling the deafening blast that tore through an ordinary evening near Delhi’s Red Fort.

The roadside eatery owner from Bihar was among those who survived the explosion that killed 12 people and left the area surrounded in smoke and screams.

Pratap, who runs a small roadside eatery near the Red Fort, was preparing to shut for the day when the explosion ripped through the area. Speaking from his hospital bed, he described how the calm turned into a nightmare.

“It was just another evening. A few customers were waiting when suddenly there was a loud blast. The noise was so strong I could not hear anything for a few seconds. Glass shards fell on us and thick smoke engulfed everything,” Pratap said.

A family member of Jumman, an e-rickshaw driver who died in the blast near Red Fort, shows
a picture of the deceased in New Delhi on Tuesday. (PTI Photo/Karma Bhutia)

“People were lying on the ground, some bleeding, some not moving at all. Blood was everywhere. My own hand was bleeding badly, but I did not even realise it then. We saw death from up close,” he said, trying to hold back his tears.

Outside the emergency ward, one of Pratap’s relatives recalled how he was standing just a few metres away when the explosion occurred. “There was a flash, then fire, then thick black smoke. I froze. I could not find my brother,” he said.

“People were shouting names, crying, searching for their families. For a few minutes, no one knew who was alive,” he said.

That evening, a few metres away from Pratap’s eatery, Vijender Yadav had just parked his water tanker when the explosion occurred and everything went dark.

Yadav, who hails from Saharsa district in Bihar, runs a small water supply and tanker business in Delhi. His arm now rests in a sling, and his head is wrapped in bandages.

Standing outside the Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan (LNJP) Hospital, his voice trembles as he recounts the horrifying scenes from that evening. “My tanker was parked on the roadside. I was just closing up when it exploded,” he said.

“The blast threw me to the ground. When I got up, my clothes were soaked in blood. I saw bodies on the road, pieces of glass and flesh scattered everywhere,” Yadav added.

Family members of victims mourn outside a mortuary in New Delhi on Tuesday. (PTI Photo)

People were screaming, some were running, and others were frozen in shock, he said, adding, “That sound is still ringing in my ears.”

Yadav, who has been in the business for more than two decades, said his wife and four children live in their village in Bihar.

“I thought I would never see them again,” he said, pausing. “I have three daughters. I kept thinking what would happen to them if I didn’t make it? I still don’t know how I survived. This chaos, this fear, it will stay with me forever.”

The high-intensity blast, which ripped through a slow-moving car near the Red Fort Metro station on Monday evening, gutted several vehicles and left many injured. Several of the critically wounded later succumbed, taking the death toll to 12.

Taxi driver, cosmetics shop owner identified

Eighteen-year-old Nauman Ansari from Uttar Pradesh’s Shamli district was in the city to buy cosmetics for his shop when the powerful blast near Delhi’s Red Fort claimed his life.

Ansari, who hailed from Jhinjhana town in Shamli, was the sole breadwinner of his family. “Nauman was killed on the spot while his cousin Aman sustained injuries and is undergoing treatment at Lok Nayak Hospital in Delhi,” Nauman’s uncle Furkan told PTI.

The family is making arrangements to bring Nauman’s body back for burial, Furkan said.

Sonu, a relative of the victim, who worked in a shop near the New Delhi Railway station, said, “Early this morning, I got a call from my uncle saying Nauman was no more and asked me to reach LNJP Hospital.”

Among those killed was DTC conductor Ashok Kumar, 34, who hailed from Amroha district.

Another deceased has been identified as 22-year-old Pankaj Sahini, who used to operate a taxi.

His relative Ramdev Sahni said a phone call was received from Kotwali police station in Delhi regarding his nephew’s death in the blast on Monday evening that left 12 people dead.

He was waiting outside the mortuary to collect the body of his nephew while his brother and the father of the victim were inside to complete the paperwork.

“He drove a taxi for three years. We were told the backside of his head was blown off. The car, a WagnoR, was completely damaged,” Sahni said.

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Delhi Red Fort blast: Death toll rises to 13, victims identified Pulwama doctor driving car had terror links

Police investigated the Red Fort blast as a possible terror attack and zeroed in on a Pulwama doctor, who was driving the car that exploded and had links to a terror module busted with the recovery of explosives mainly from Faridabad.

Dr Umar Nabi

Dr Umar Nabi is believed to have died in the blast that killed at least 12 people on Monday evening. On Tuesday, Jammu and Kashmir police took a DNA sample from his mother to establish the connection.

“We have taken the DNA sample in order to match with the parts found at the scene of the blast,” an official said in Srinagar.

The case has been handed over to the National Investigation Agency (NIA), a decision taken after a review meeting chaired by Home Minister Amit Shah.

Among those arrested on Monday were Dr Muzammil Ganaie and Dr Shaheen Sayeed, both connected to the Al Falah university in Faridabad, from where 360 kg of ammonium nitrate was recovered.

According to investigators, Shaheen was leading the Jaish-e-Mohammed’s women recruitment wing in India. She headed the Jamaat-ul-Mominat, the group’s female wing.

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Umar, also connected to Al Falah and believed to be driving the Hyundai i20 car in which the powerful blast took place, allegedly carried out the terror attack as he feared he might be caught like his fellow doctors, officials said.

The doctor from Lethpora in south Kashmir’s Pulwama district allegedly carried explosives, possibly ammonium nitrate, in the car, they said. A suicide attack was not ruled out.

Muzamil, his sister-in-law, said Umar had been an introvert right from his childhood and focused on his studies and work.

“He was working as a faculty at a college in Faridabad. He called on Friday and said he is busy with examinations and will return home after three days. He was a reserved kind of person right from childhood,” she said.

He last visited Kashmir two months ago, she said, adding that he was a loner and did not have many friends.

Preliminary findings suggest ammonium nitrate, fuel oil and detonators may have been used in the blast that ripped through the slow moving car near a traffic signal.

As investigations into the blast and the terror module continue, officials said a man named Tariq from south Kashmir’s Pulwama district had given the i20 to Umar and is now under arrest.

Raids are also being conducted at multiple locations in Delhi. Police and the national capital has been placed on high alert with strict vigil being maintained at the airport, railway stations and bus terminals.

Police said CCTV footage of the car that exploded shows a “masked man” driving the car. Multiple teams have been deployed to scan CCTV from the vicinity of the Red Fort and adjoining routes, officials added.

They said Umar was the lone occupant of the car.

Following the blast, security across the national capital has been intensified, and vehicle checking at all border points has been intensified as well.

All vehicles entering Delhi, whether private or commercial, are being thoroughly checked and verified as part of heightened security measures, officials said.

“Multiple teams have been deployed to scan CCTV footage from the vicinity of the Red Fort and adjoining routes to know more about the masked man,” a police official said.

“We also got to know that the vehicle was parked in a nearby parking lot for three hours, before the blast. Footage of different parking lots are also being monitored,” the source added.

He added that an overnight search operation was conducted at hotels and guest houses in Daryaganj and Paharganj areas to trace possible suspects.

The Red Fort Metro Station has been closed for commuters, and traffic restrictions have been imposed in the area.

Delhi Traffic Police issued an advisory regarding restrictions and diversions that have been put in place and advised commuters to avoid these routes from 6 am till further order and use alternative roads for a hassle-free journey.

Car’s 11-hour trail shows suspicious movement

CCTV footage and data obtained from a toll plaza have helped the investigators piece together a detailed timeline of the vehicle’s movement.

The car began its journey from Faridabad early Monday morning and meandered through several parts of Delhi, before it detonated near the Red Fort metro station around 6:52 pm on Monday, the sources said.

“The car was first spotted outside the Asian Hospital in Faridabad at approximately 7:30 am. Around 8:13 am, it crossed the Badarpur toll plaza — marking its entry into Delhi,” a source said.

At 8:20 am, CCTV footage captured the image of the vehicle passing by a petrol pump near the Okhla Industrial Area.

The investigators said at 3:19 pm, the car entered a parking area adjacent to the Red Fort complex, where it reportedly remained stationary for nearly three hours.

“At 6:22 pm, the car was seen leaving the parking area and heading towards the Red Fort. This 30-minute period before the blast is now a key focus of our investigation. We are trying to establish who was inside the vehicle,” the source said.

Barely 24 minutes after the vehicle left the parking area, at around 6:52 pm, a powerful explosion tore through the moving car. The blast ripped apart the vehicle, scattered body parts across the road, shattered windows of nearby buildings, the metro station and triggered panic among locals and tourists.

Police said they are analysing CCTV footage collected from across Delhi and adjoining National Capital Region (NCR) areas to track every movement of the car and identify anyone who may have been in contact with it during the day.

Another police source said the same car was also seen outside a petrol pump, where it went to procure a pollution certificate.

“Our investigation is ongoing. We got to know that the car procured a pollution certificate from a petrol-filling station to ensure that if police stop it near the border, it can show all documents. Many details are emerging and we are connecting all the dots,” the source said.

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