New Delhi: Security and intelligence agencies are on the lookout for at least two more modules of the alleged terror network, a member of which executed the car blast near Red Fort on Monday evening, at least two Delhi Police officers assisting the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in the blast probe said, requesting anonymity.
The officers said that the two modules, which may have one or more alleged operatives, have gone into hiding soon after law enforcement agencies in Jammu and Kashmir and Haryana arrested at least two people from the alleged group that was planning pan-India terror strikes and recovered nearly 3,000 kg of explosive substances and other incriminating items.
The toll from the explosion in a white Hyundai i20 car in the heart of Old Delhi on Monday evening climbed to 10 as the government vowed to hunt down those responsible for the blast that ripped through a clutch of vehicles and was heard even 2 km away.
The officers said they are unsure if the absconding members of the two modules, who were possibly assigned the task of carrying out blasts, are carrying explosive substances in their cars or not.
“We have some information about the absconding suspects, including the identities of a couple of them. But we cannot share anything further because our operation, including raids, is ongoing and we don’t want to alert the absconding suspects,” said one of the officers.
{{/usCountry}}“We have some information about the absconding suspects, including the identities of a couple of them. But we cannot share anything further because our operation, including raids, is ongoing and we don’t want to alert the absconding suspects,” said one of the officers.
{{/usCountry}}Multiple agencies are conducting raids across Delhi-NCR and states such as Jammu and Kashmir, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh to arrest people associated with the alleged group, purportedly linked to terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) and a doctor from Pulwama in Jammu and Kashmir, that had for nearly a year been planning a series of blasts across the country and had already procured hundreds of kilograms of ammonium nitrate and other explosive substances.
“It cannot be said with certainty that the absconding members of the two modules are still using the cars they had fled in or whether they abandoned the vehicles in any secluded or crowded places. Their arrest as quickly as possible is important to make further progress in our operation that is aimed at busting the entire network and unravelling the faces of the masterminds,” the second officer said.
On Monday, the first call to the Delhi Fire Department came at 6.55 pm, and the fire was doused at 7.29 pm. The first victims were rushed to Lok Nayak Hospital at 7 pm. Visuals showed debris scattered across the road at an intersection, with cars, motorbikes, autos, and e-rickshaws mangled and burnt, and twisted metal strewn around. The agency took over the probe in the case on Tuesday after police registered a first information report (FIR). Police filed a case against unknown persons under the stringent anti-terror law, but no outfit or person was officially named as a suspect.