Poll-bound Bihar was put on high alert after a powerful explosion near the Red Fort in Delhi killed nine people and injured over 20. Security across the state, already beefed-up for the final phase of assembly polls on November 11, has been intensified.
Director General of Police Vinay Kumar said, "A high-security alert has been sounded across Bihar following the explosion near the Red Fort. All district police and several other wings of the Bihar Police have been directed to maintain a close watch and extraordinary vigil to thwart any attempt by anti-national elements by intensifying area domination patrolling and search operations."
Delhi Red Fort Blast: What Happened?
Eight people died and twenty people were injured after a blast in a car near the Red Fort on Monday evening. The explosion took place in a Hyundai i20 near Gate No. 1 of the Red Fort Metro Station at 6.52 pm.
Delhi Police Commissioner Satish Golcha said, "The blast took place in a slow-moving vehicle that came to a halt at the Red Fort traffic signal. There were occupants in the car. The blast damaged cars nearby."
Union Home Minister Amit Shah confirmed that "all angles" were being investigated. "Within 10 minutes of receiving the information of the blast, teams from the Delhi Crime Branch and Delhi Special Branch arrived at the spot. The NSG and NIA teams, along with the FSL, have now begun a thorough investigation. Orders have been given to examine all nearby CCTV cameras," he said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been briefed on the situation by Home Minister Amit Shah, who is receiving regular updates from the Delhi Police Commissioner, the National Investigation Agency (NIA), and the Intelligence Bureau (IB).
Following the explosion, major cities including Mumbai, Kolkata, Jaipur, Haryana, Punjab, Hyderabad, Uttar Pradesh, and Uttarakhand were placed on high alert.
Bihar Elections: 122 Assembly Seats To Vote Tomorrow
The incident comes just a day before voting in 122 constituencies for the second phase of the Bihar Assembly Elections 2025. The first phase on 6 November recorded a historic 64.7 per cent turnout, the highest ever in the state's assembly poll history.
Reacting to the incident, opposition leader Tejashwi Yadav posted on X, "I have received the tragic news of the car explosion that occurred near the Red Fort in Delhi. Such an explosion in the country's capital is alarming and distressing. I express my deepest condolences to those families who have lost their innocent loved ones in this painful incident, and I pray for the swiftest possible recovery of all the injured. In matters of national security, be it Pulwama or Pahalgam, we have stood firmly with the government. Nothing is more important than the security and sovereignty of the country."
