New Delhi: A day after a deadly attack that left eight people dead and several injured, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on November 11 handed over the investigation into the Delhi car blast case to the National Investigation Agency (NIA), considering it a possible act of terror.
The decision comes amid concerns over the nature and links of the explosion, which occurred near the Red Fort metro station on Monday, around 7 pm.
The NIA will take over the probe formally from the Delhi Police and examine all aspects of the case, including the materials used in the blast and possible terror links. Earlier, a post-blast investigation team of the National Security Guard (NSG) had collected forensic evidence from the site along with the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) team.
The transfer of the case to the NIA indicates the Centre’s intent to ensure a comprehensive and coordinated investigation into the incident.
Eight people were killed and several others injured in the explosion, prompting two back-to-back high-level security review meetings chaired by Union Home Minister Amit Shah. The first round of meeting that occurred in the morning for over one hour at the Home Minister’s residence was attended by Union Home Secretary Govind Mohan, Director of Intelligence Bureau Tapan Deka, Director General of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) Sadanand Vasant Date, and Delhi Police Commissioner Satish Golchha. Jammu and Kashmir DGP Nalin Prabhat joined the meeting virtually. The second round of meeting started at 3 pm in the Ministry of Home Affairs office at Kartavya Bhawan.
Sources said the review focused on the progress of the investigation into the explosion as well as on a possible link with the recent seizure of a huge cache of explosives from Faridabad.
Soon after the blast, Shah on Monday directed a multi-agency investigation involving the NIA, NSG, FSL, and Delhi Police to determine the cause, nature, and source of the explosives.
A team from the FSL and the NIA revisited the blast site on Tuesday morning to collect additional forensic evidence.
The NIA will soon register a First Information Report in the case and take over all the evidences collected by the Delhi Police as per procedure. (With inputs from ANI)
