The bomb occurred hours after Jammu and Kashmir police confiscated approximately 3,000kg of explosives from two residential houses in Faridabad, Haryana.

A high-intensity blast in a car near Delhi’s Red Fort, a major tourist site and one of the most populated locations of the national capital, killed eight people and injured 20 on Monday night.

According to NDTV, the car detonated opposite Gate 1 of the Lal Qila metro station. It was a Hyundai i20 with Haryana plates belonging to Tariq. The boom was so intense that neighboring vehicles caught fire. Horrific images showed a van with its doors blown off and a completely wrecked car, with stunned eyewitnesses telling NDTV that body parts lay on the road.

According to Delhi Police Commissioner Satish Golcha, “Today at 6.52 pm, a slow-moving vehicle came to a stop at a red signal. An explosion occurred in that truck, causing damage to neighboring vehicles. Some people have perished while others have been harmed. The issue is being followed. The Home Minister (Amit Shah) called us, and information is being exchanged with him.

Shah, in turn, informed Prime Minister Narendra Modi about the blast. The Prime Minister expressed condolences over the deaths of the eight persons and prayed for the recovery of all those injured.

The nature of the blast is unknown at this time, but all state security agencies are on high alert, and security has been increased at the Indo-Nepal border, where Border Security Force troops and intelligence officials are stationed to monitor all visitors crossing the open border with that country.

The bomb occurred hours after Jammu and Kashmir police confiscated approximately 3,000kg of explosives from two residential houses in Faridabad, Haryana.

The goods, which included 350kg of ammonium nitrate, a routinely used fertilizer that may be converted into a lethal bomb, were seized based on information obtained from arrested J&K doctor Adil Rather.

Rather was detained on Sunday in Uttar Pradesh’s Saharanpur after CCTV footage showed him posting posters in support of the terrorist group Jaish-e-Mohammed throughout Srinagar.

The probe also uncovered the name of Muzammil Shakeel, a medical professional from Jammu and Kashmir who worked at the Al-Falah Hospital in Faridabad. According to the hospital records, he lived on campus. However, authorities discovered at least two off-campus properties connected to him.

When the officers searched them, they were surprised to discover 12 suitcases filled with explosive stuff. Items associated with explosive devices, such as detonators and timers, were also discovered.

An anonymous female colleague, who had an assault rifle and some ammo stowed in her Maruti Suzki Swift Dzire sub-compact vehicle, was also arrested. A second firearm and additional ammo were discovered inside a staff locker at the GMC in Anantnag, where Rather worked till last year.

Earlier today, referring to the raids, arrests, and recoveries in Jammu and Kashmir and Faridabad, the police said they had discovered an inter-state and transnational terrorist module linked to at least two banned terrorist organisations: Pakistan-based Jaish and Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind, an al-Qaeda affiliated group.

Aside from Rather, Shakeel, and the female doctor, five people have been arrested thus far.