Executive Summary
- The Indian government has officially declared the Delhi car explosion that killed 12 people a “terror incident.”
- Five individuals have been detained in the disputed region of Kashmir in connection with the bombing.
- The investigation is being handled by India’s national anti-terrorism squad under expansive anti-terror laws.
- The attack has heightened geopolitical tensions between nuclear-armed neighbors India and Pakistan.
The Indian government has officially declared a car explosion that killed 12 people and injured more than 30 outside Delhi’s Red Fort on Monday a “terror incident.” In a statement, the prime minister’s cabinet attributed the attack to “anti-national forces” and confirmed the nation’s anti-terrorism squad is leading the investigation into the deadliest such attack in the capital in over a decade.
Investigation and Arrests
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has filed a case under India’s anti-terror law, granting investigators broad powers for raids and arrests. The cabinet condemned the explosion as a “dastardly and cowardly act that has led to the loss of innocent lives.” While the government did not specify the group responsible, authorities confirmed that five people have been detained in the Pulwama district of Kashmir in connection with the bombing.
The detentions follow the recent discovery of what police described as an “interstate and transnational terror” cell allegedly linked to Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM), a Pakistan-based insurgent group. Investigators are reportedly examining whether the driver of the vehicle used in the Red Fort blast was part of that cell and if the attack was a reaction to recent raids that uncovered a large cache of explosives.
Regional Tensions
The confirmation that the blast was a terrorist act risks escalating already high tensions between India and Pakistan. The incident follows an attack in April, which India blamed on Pakistan, that led to cross-border military strikes. India has since maintained that any further terrorist acts on its soil would be treated as an act of war. Following the Red Fort explosion, the Modi cabinet reiterated its policy of “zero tolerance towards terrorism.” The situation is further complicated by a recent suicide bombing in Islamabad, which Pakistan’s prime minister claimed involved “Indian state terrorism.”
India’s Home Minister, Amit Shah, has pledged to “hunt down each and every culprit behind this incident.” It is important to note that all individuals detained are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.