India’s government on Wednesday pledged to hold accountable the “perpetrators, their collaborators, and their sponsors” behind a deadly car explosion in the capital.
The blast, which occurred on Monday near the Red Fort, killed at least 12 people and injured 30 others, according to hospital officials.
In a statement issued after a cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the government described the attack as a “heinous terror incident carried out by anti-national forces.”
This marks the first official acknowledgment by India that the explosion is being treated as an act of terrorism.
The historic Red Fort in the crowded Old Delhi quarter of the city is one of India’s most well-known landmarks, and the site of the annual prime minister’s Independence Day speech.
The cabinet expressed “profound grief” over the loss of lives.
It did not give further details of who might have been behind the attack, but said India would maintain a policy of “zero tolerance towards terrorism in all its forms”.
It condemned what it called a “dastardly and cowardly act that has led to the loss of innocent lives”.
Ritu Saxena, the chief medical officer of Delhi’s LNJP hospital, told AFP earlier on Wednesday that “12 people have died and more than 30 are injured”.
Witnesses described to AFP how the car exploded in traffic and how people caught up in the surge of flames were set on fire.
The explosion came hours after Indian police said they had arrested a gang and seized explosive materials and assault rifles.
Police said the men were linked with Jaish-e-Mohammed and Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind. Both groups are listed as terrorist organisations in India.
The government ordered an investigation with the “utmost urgency” so that “the perpetrators, their collaborators, and their sponsors are identified and brought to justice without delay.”
Source: Express Tribune.