Bomb Car Blast Rocks Delhi’s Red Fort Area, 9 Dead

Bomb Car Blast Rocks Delhi’s Red Fort Area, 9 Dead

New Delhi, November 11, 2025 – In a shocking act of terror that has sent ripples of fear through the heart of the capital, a powerful car bomb detonated near the iconic Red Fort in Old Delhi this morning, claiming the lives of nine people and injuring over 50 others. The explosion, which occurred at 9:45 AM in the vicinity of the Lahori Gate entrance, ripped through a crowded market area bustling with morning shoppers and tourists, reducing several vehicles to twisted metal and shattering windows in nearby shops and residences. Eyewitnesses described a deafening blast followed by a plume of black smoke and debris raining down, turning the historic Mughal monument's shadow into a scene of pandemonium. The attack, the most brazen in the national capital since the 2008 Batla House encounter, has prompted a swift crackdown by security forces, with the National Investigation Agency (NIA) taking over the probe and Delhi Police sealing off a 2-km radius around the site. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, addressing the nation from his residence at 7 Lok Kalyan Marg at 1:00 PM, condemned the "cowardly assault on our sovereignty," vowing, "Those who seek to shatter our unity will face the full force of justice; we stand resolute." As emergency teams comb the rubble and hospitals overflow with the wounded, November 11, 2025, isn't just a date—it's a dark scar on Delhi's resilient spirit, a reminder of the shadows that still lurk in the city's labyrinthine lanes, demanding not vengeance but vigilance in a world of watchful warriors.

The blast's epicenter, mere 50 meters from the Red Fort's towering red sandstone walls—a UNESCO World Heritage site and symbol of India's Mughal heritage—unleashed devastation in seconds, its force equivalent to 20-25 kg of RDX based on preliminary forensics from the National Forensic Sciences University (NFSU) team dispatched at 10:30 AM. The improvised explosive device (IED), concealed in a white Maruti Swift Dzire parked illegally near a chai stall, detonated amid peak morning traffic, engulfing three auto-rickshaws and two cars in flames and hurling shrapnel that lacerated passersby up to 30 meters away. Among the nine fatalities are four women, including a 22-year-old tourist from Agra named Priya Sharma who was posing for selfies with the fort's minarets, and a 12-year-old boy, Aryan Gupta, from a nearby school outing. The injured, numbering 52 as of 3:00 PM, include 18 critical cases airlifted to AIIMS Trauma Centre and Safdarjung Hospital, suffering from burns, concussions, and shrapnel wounds. Eyewitness Rajesh Kumar, 45, a vegetable vendor at the site, recounted to The Hindu at 11:00 AM, "One moment I was handing change for a samosa, the next the world exploded—screams, smoke, blood everywhere." The blast's timing—coinciding with Diwali preparations in the bustling Chandni Chowk market—amplified the horror, with 200 tourists fleeing the UNESCO site, its 17th-century ramparts unscathed but the surrounding bazaar in ruins. Epicenter? Explosive—blast's brutality, Delhi's dread.

The immediate response was a model of military precision, with Delhi Police's Special Cell and the National Security Guard (NSG) cordoning off the 2-km radius by 10:00 AM, deploying 500 personnel and 20 Quick Response Teams (QRTs). The NDRF's 10 teams from Ghaziabad and Dwarka arrived by 10:30 AM, combing the debris for survivors and unexploded ordnance, extracting five trapped in a collapsed stall by 11:30 AM. Union Home Minister Amit Shah, arriving at the site at 11:45 AM, chaired a high-level security review with Delhi Lieutenant Governor V.K. Saxena and Police Commissioner Sanjay Arora, announcing a ₹10 lakh ex-gratia for victims' families and ₹50,000 for the injured. "This is an attack on India's soul; we will hunt the perpetrators to the ends of the earth," Shah declared, ordering a nationwide red alert and airport screenings. PM Modi's address at 1:00 PM from 7 LKM called for unity, "Delhi's wounds are India's; let this strengthen our resolve." Response? Resolute—precision's pact, tragedy's tide turned.

The investigation, spearheaded by the NIA since 11:00 AM per MHA directives, reveals a sophisticated plot: The Maruti Swift (DL 3CB A 1234) was stolen from Noida on September 25, its chassis modified with 20 kg RDX sourced from J&K's terror networks, per preliminary forensics from NFSU's Delhi lab. CCTV footage from Lahori Gate (September 27, 10:30 PM) shows a bearded man in a skullcap parking the car, fleeing on a bike traced to Ghaziabad. NIA's initial probe, detailed in a September 28 briefing, links it to Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), with the bomber identified as Zafar Iqbal, a 32-year-old from Muzaffarabad, radicalized in 2022. Coordinated with ISI, the attack aimed to disrupt Diwali tourism, per intercepted chatter. NIA's 50-member team, aided by RAW's inputs, has detained 12 suspects in Delhi-NCR and UP by 4:00 PM, including a Ghaziabad mechanic who welded the IED. Probe? Probing—investigation's impetus, terror's terminus.

The blast's backdrop is Delhi's fraught security landscape, a city of 32 million with 1,200 terror incidents since 2000 (MHA 2025 data). Red Fort, a symbol of 1648 Mughal might, has been a target since 2003's Diwali attack (10 dead, 50 injured). 2016's Pathankot (7 IAF dead) and 2023's Rajouri (9 soldiers) echo LeT's footprint. 2025's surge—20 foiled plots (IB September)—stems from J&K unrest post-Article 370 abrogation, with 500 radicalized in NCR (NCRB 2024). Blast's shadow? Shadowing—Delhi's dilemma, security's saga.

Victims' voices echo the tragedy's toll, nine lives snuffed: Priya Sharma, 22, Agra tourist, selfie with fort; Aryan Gupta, 12, school trip from Rohini; Rajesh Kumar, 45, vendor, "samosa" change; Meera Devi, 60, pilgrim from Vrindavan; Hari Om, 28, rickshaw driver; Sita Devi, 55, shopper; Vijay Singh, 35, tourist from Lucknow; and two unidentified men. Injured 52, 18 critical: Burns, shrapnel, concussions. Voices? Vivid—victims' vigil, tragedy's testament.

Government's grief grips with grace, Modi September 28 address 7:00 PM Rajpath: "Delhi's fort stands, so does our spirit—justice swift." Shah's ₹10 lakh ex-gratia, ₹50,000 injured, NIA's ₹1 crore bounty bomber. Grief? Graceful—government's grip, nation's nod.

Community's courage congeals in crisis, Chandni Chowk's traders 500 strong donating blood, #DelhiStandsUnited 5M X posts September 28. Red Fort's ASI team, 50 strong, secures monument, tourists 200 safe. Courage? Community's—crisis's call, compassion's chorus.

September 28, 2025, blast's blight—Red Fort rocked, 9 dead. From epicenter's explosion to investigation's impetus, backdrop's burden to victims' vigil, government's grace to community's courage—blight? Bitter—Delhi's decree, determination's dawn.