The Lal Qila Metro Station has been temporarily closed after the deadly explosion near Delhi's Red Fort on Monday evening claimed nine lives and left at least 20 injured. All other metro stations remain operational, the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) said Tuesday.
The closure came after a high-intensity blast in a white Hyundai i20 car near the Red Fort around 6:52 pm in one of the national capital's busiest and most secure areas.
A powerful explosion set multiple vehicles ablaze through the congested Subhash Marg intersection, eyewitnesses said. The Delhi Fire Services said it received a call about the blast near Lal Qila Metro Station Gate No. 1 around 7 pm.
Footage from the site showed mangled cars, debris, and victims lying on the road as police and rescue teams scrambled to evacuate the injured to Lok Nayak Hospital (LNJP).
Union Home Minister Amit Shah said the explosion occurred in a slow-moving vehicle that stopped at the Red Fort traffic signal. Teams from the Delhi Crime Branch, Special Branch, NSG, and NIA are reportedly investigating all possible angles. Shah confirmed that investigators were reviewing CCTV footage from surrounding areas, while forensic experts were analysing debris from the car, which carried a Haryana registration number.
Delhi Police Commissioner Satish Golcha said that the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) had been invoked after preliminary evidence and intelligence inputs suggested possible terror links.
Following the explosion, several states, including Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Haryana, and poll-bound Bihar, have been placed on high alert. Authorities have stepped up surveillance across major cities such as Mumbai, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, and Jaipur.
The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) has heightened vigilance across Delhi-NCR installations, including Red Fort, IGI Airport, Delhi Metro, and government offices. The Chandni Chowk market, located adjacent to the blast site and visited by nearly half a million people daily, will remain closed on Tuesday as a precaution.
The blast occurred on the same day that police in Faridabad, Haryana, recovered a massive 2,900 kg cache of explosives, only 50 km from Delhi.
