Israel issues advisory after blast near Delhi embassy, cops scour for clues

Agencies lifted some exhibits from the spot behind the Israeli embassy where the sound was heard on Tuesday evening

The Israeli embassy on Wednesday issued a travel advisory for its citizens in India after a low-intensity blast near the country’s mission in the high-security Lutyens’ zone the previous day, and the Delhi Police and other Indian counterterror agencies, including NIA and NSG, scoured the area to ascertain the nature of the explosion.

An NSG forensic team at the spot where the blast was heard near the Israeli embassy on Wednesday. (Vipin Kumar/HT photo)

Read here: Israel Embassy ‘blast’: 'Palestine, Gaza' found written on suspicious letter, says report

The teams lifted some exhibits from the spot at Prithviraj Road — behind the Israeli embassy, whose entrance is on APJ Abdul Kalam Road — where the sound was heard on Tuesday evening. Investigators said they would have to wait for the outcome of forensic examination to get more clues, and that initial CCTV screenings in the vicinity had thrown up four persons of interest who may be linked to the incident that appeared to be an attempt to either attract attention or sound a warning.

One of the exhibits found at the spot was a single-page letter typed in English, addressed to the Israeli ambassador, that spoke of Israel’s actions against Palestine and along the Gaza strip in the war raging in West Asia since October 7.

The letter prompted the Israeli embassy to call the incident a “possible terror attack”, and the mission in its advisory asked citizens to avoid public places or crowded events.

Israel’s National Security Council, in the advisory issued in Hebrew, also urged Israelis living in India to avoid going to places identified as being frequented by Western or Jewish and Israeli elements.

Israeli citizens should maintain increased vigilance in public places, including restaurants, hotels and bars, and avoid displaying Israeli symbols, the advisory said.

It further cautioned Israeli nationals to avoid participating in “events with many participants that are not secure”, and to avoid posting details of their trips on social media, both before the journey and in real time.

Meanwhile, with no visible residue of any explosion or lethal material found during the search operation that continued on Wednesday, and with no damage to life or property, a first information report (FIR) was not registered by the Delhi Police in connection with the blast till late on Wednesday evening, officers aware of the matter said.

But Indian security and intelligence agencies scaled up security around the embassy and at all buildings linked with Israel, the officers added.

Two security guards stationed at two different properties on Prithviraj Road said they heard a loud bang on the pavement outside the gate of bungalow No 4 a little after 5.30 pm. One guard, Teju Chhetri, who was deployed at the Central Hindi Training Institute, said that he first thought the tyre of a parked car may have burst.

“I checked all the cars parked inside. Their tyres were intact. I stepped out of the gate and found smoke in the long planters outside the gate of the adjacent bungalow (No 4).

“Soon, some Israel embassy officials arrived and asked me if I had heard any blast. I told them what I heard and saw. Thereafter, police also asked me similar questions,” said Chhetri, who has worked at the institute for the past seven years.

The other guard, who identified himself as Suresh, said that he was on duty at the gate of Bungalow No 6 (Jindal House) when he heard the sound of a blast.

“I did not immediately step out of the gate but could smell the burning of some chemical. After police arrived, I learnt that there was a blast,” said Suresh.

The place where the two guards said the blast occurred was directly behind the Israeli embassy. No CCTV camera was found installed on the gate of the property outside which the blast was heard.

The adjacent structures have one camera each but neither covers the blast site. The nearest CCTV camera of any value to the probe is installed nearly 50 metres away from the blast site on Prithviraj Road, investigators said.

The blast was also heard by some people in the embassy, who alerted their security officials, and they in turn rushed to the place from where the noise came, police said.

A senior officer, who asked not to be named, said that man in the vicinity who heard the blast alerted a policeman on patrol duty, and a call was made to the police control room at 5.53pm. A team from the Tughlaq Road police station was the first to reach and cordon off the area.

Soon, firefighters and officials of the city police’s anti-terror squad and special cell arrived along with the dog and bomb squads. Forensic experts from Delhi’s forensic science laboratory (FSL), and officers of the National Investigation Agency and Intelligence Bureau (IB) also joined the police in the search and inspection operation.

“Although no traces of any blast were found at the spot, the forensic experts lifted exhibits from plants, land, concrete objects, and garbage items from the area for examination. The forensic examination will focus on all sorts of explosions, including bursting of high-intensity crackers and chemical blast,” one officer said.

During the search operation, the officer added, a letter wrapped in a flag -- he did not say which -- and addressed to the Israeli ambassador was found a little distance away in the wooded area. Although the contents of the letter have not been divulged by the police, the officer said that it was typed in English and written on behalf of an organisation that called itself “Sir Allah Resistance”.

The letter, which had abusive words thrown in, talked about “Israel’s action in Palestine and revenge”, the officer said, adding that the recovery of the letter prompted the officials to focus their probe as an attempted attack on the Israel embassy.

Delhi Police spokesperson Kumar Gyanesh said on Wednesday morning, teams of central agencies visited the spot and collected samples of soil, leaves and objects lying around for further examination. All necessary steps are being taken, he added.

On Wednesday, when the police teams resumed their search operation around the site, they were joined by officials and forensic experts from the National Security Guard (NSG). In scanning the footage from the one usable CCTV camera in the vicinity, police said they zeroed in on at least four people whose movements in the proximity of the embassy and around the blast site looked suspicious.

“The drill to identify and verify the four people and others whose presence was seen in the area before and after the blast is in progress. The footage scanning exercise will take some time, as we will be checking for suspicious movements the previous days as well. There is a possibility that those behind the blast may have conducted a reconnaissance of the area and chosen a spot that was not directly under the focus of any camera. The data of mobile phones active around the area during the blast is being collected and examined for clues,” a second officer said.

Read here: Scanning CCTV to identify suspects: Delhi police on blast near Israel Embassy

Tuesday’s incident comes nearly three years after a blast in the vicinity of the Israeli embassy during the Republic Day festivities week led to security around APJ Abdul Kalam Road, where the embassy is located, being significantly enhanced. It also comes amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas war in which nearly 21,000 people have been killed and around 55,000 have been injured.

The war started on October 7 following an attack on Israel by the militant group, and has led to a severe counter by Israel in the Gaza strip.