Police and forensic experts surround the site of a blast outside the Delhi High Court in New Delhi, May 25. Police say a minor explosion has taken place near the parking lot of the court, but there are no casualties. Dharmendra Kumar says a plastic bag containing an unknown explosive substance went off on a side street near the high court in central New Delhi. (AP Photo)
New Delhi, May 25 (PTI): A minor explosion outside Delhi High Court on Wednesday shattered the lull in the capital for over eight months and prompted the police to sound an alert in the city and strengthen security. The low-intensity explosive, kept in a white polythene bag near a lawyer’s car parked at Gate No 7 on Service Road, went off at around 1.25 p.m. causing panic. Three minutes later, the police received a call regarding the blast. Police was groping for clues in the blast and were hesitant to hazard a guess about who was behind it.
“It was not an accident. There was a minor explosion. A packet containing explosives kept in a plastic bag near the car’s right side exploded. There were minor damages to the car. There was no casualty or injuries,” Dharmendra Kumar, Special Commissioner (Law and Order), told reporters. Wednesday’s blast was the second in the last eight months, the previous one being a blast in car on September 19 last year near the Jama Masjid for which terror outfit Indian Mujahideen took responsibility. That blast took place after two unidentified men opened fire at a Taiwanese media crew ahead of the Commonwealth Games. Noting that the nature of the explosives is yet to be ascertained, he said the car owner has nothing to do with the incident. He said lawyer, Rajat Jain, had parked his car and had gone to the canteen to have food.
Personnel of the Delhi Police’s Special Cell, Crime Branch and Bomb Detection and Disposal Unit were immediately rushed to the site along with fire brigade while experts from Central Forensic Sciences Laboratory, Delhi and NSG collected samples from the spot. Sources said the forensic experts have collected some white powder and battery-like object from the spot but there were no shrapnels or timer devices. “It was not a life-threatening blast... It was a small blast,” Mr. Kumar said adding the samples have been sent for forensic examination. He said it was an open access area and there were no CCTV coverage on the lane. “We are trying to ascertain whether it is an explosion. The residue found has been sent for forensic analysis to see whether there is any sign of explosive,” U.K. Bansal, Secretary (Internal Security) in the Union Home Ministry, said.
Mr. Bansal said initially an Explosive Vapour Device Detector was used to analyse the chemical composition of the explosive but it did not yield result. That can now be determined as the forensic teams of Delhi and National Security Guard (NSG) will be analysing the substance, he said. After the September 13, 2008 blasts which killed 26 people and injured around 70, the city had witnessed several minor blasts. Fifteen days after the September 13 blasts, a low intensity explosion killed a girl in Mehrauli. A series of mysterious blasts near IIT in south Delhi as also the Jama Masjid blast in 2005 and last year along with the Mehrauli case remain unsolved.
“There was a sudden blast in the parking lot. We rushed to the spot and found a black bag burning beside the car,” said parking attendant Dharamvir. Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Justice G.S. Sistani as also Delhi Police chief B.K. Gupta visited the spot. Lawyers having refreshment in a canteen inside the court complex and near the parking lot rushed outside after they heard a loud explosion. “I was in canteen having a soft drink. At around 1.25 p.m. I heard a loud explosion outside gate no 7. I rushed outside and saw a burning plastic bag near a car. It was just below the bonnet,” a lawyer said.
“It was not an accident. There was a minor explosion. A packet containing explosives kept in a plastic bag near the car’s right side exploded. There were minor damages to the car. There was no casualty or injuries,” Dharmendra Kumar, Special Commissioner (Law and Order), told reporters. Wednesday’s blast was the second in the last eight months, the previous one being a blast in car on September 19 last year near the Jama Masjid for which terror outfit Indian Mujahideen took responsibility. That blast took place after two unidentified men opened fire at a Taiwanese media crew ahead of the Commonwealth Games. Noting that the nature of the explosives is yet to be ascertained, he said the car owner has nothing to do with the incident. He said lawyer, Rajat Jain, had parked his car and had gone to the canteen to have food.
Personnel of the Delhi Police’s Special Cell, Crime Branch and Bomb Detection and Disposal Unit were immediately rushed to the site along with fire brigade while experts from Central Forensic Sciences Laboratory, Delhi and NSG collected samples from the spot. Sources said the forensic experts have collected some white powder and battery-like object from the spot but there were no shrapnels or timer devices. “It was not a life-threatening blast... It was a small blast,” Mr. Kumar said adding the samples have been sent for forensic examination. He said it was an open access area and there were no CCTV coverage on the lane. “We are trying to ascertain whether it is an explosion. The residue found has been sent for forensic analysis to see whether there is any sign of explosive,” U.K. Bansal, Secretary (Internal Security) in the Union Home Ministry, said.
Mr. Bansal said initially an Explosive Vapour Device Detector was used to analyse the chemical composition of the explosive but it did not yield result. That can now be determined as the forensic teams of Delhi and National Security Guard (NSG) will be analysing the substance, he said. After the September 13, 2008 blasts which killed 26 people and injured around 70, the city had witnessed several minor blasts. Fifteen days after the September 13 blasts, a low intensity explosion killed a girl in Mehrauli. A series of mysterious blasts near IIT in south Delhi as also the Jama Masjid blast in 2005 and last year along with the Mehrauli case remain unsolved.
“There was a sudden blast in the parking lot. We rushed to the spot and found a black bag burning beside the car,” said parking attendant Dharamvir. Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Justice G.S. Sistani as also Delhi Police chief B.K. Gupta visited the spot. Lawyers having refreshment in a canteen inside the court complex and near the parking lot rushed outside after they heard a loud explosion. “I was in canteen having a soft drink. At around 1.25 p.m. I heard a loud explosion outside gate no 7. I rushed outside and saw a burning plastic bag near a car. It was just below the bonnet,” a lawyer said.
Delhi on high alert after blast near high court
New Delhi, May 25 (Agencies): Delhi Police have sounded a high alert across the capital after a low intensity blast occurred in the parking lot of the Delhi high court on Wednesday afternoon. “We have given a security alert across the city, particularly to all the markets and crowded areas. Security has been beefed up in crowded places and extra personnel have been deployed,” Dhermendra Kumar, special commissioner of police for law & order said.
According to police, the low intensity explosion caused by a crude bomb occurred around 1.15pm close to a Ford Figo car in the parking outside the high court, close to the ruins of an old monument. There was no casualty or damage, officials said. “A small packet was kept outside a car in the parking near gate number seven of the Delhi high court,” Kumar said.
New Delhi, May 25 (Agencies): Delhi Police have sounded a high alert across the capital after a low intensity blast occurred in the parking lot of the Delhi high court on Wednesday afternoon. “We have given a security alert across the city, particularly to all the markets and crowded areas. Security has been beefed up in crowded places and extra personnel have been deployed,” Dhermendra Kumar, special commissioner of police for law & order said.
According to police, the low intensity explosion caused by a crude bomb occurred around 1.15pm close to a Ford Figo car in the parking outside the high court, close to the ruins of an old monument. There was no casualty or damage, officials said. “A small packet was kept outside a car in the parking near gate number seven of the Delhi high court,” Kumar said.
