Delhi Red Fort blast: Investigations handed over to NIA

The Ministry of Home Affairs MHA on Tuesday transferred the investigation into the blast near the Red Fort to the National Investigation Agency NIA sources told the PTIThe move strongly indicates that the government is treating the explosion which has so far claimed 12 lives as a possible act of terrorism since the NIA is specifically mandated to handle terrorrelated casesldquoThe blast case has been handed over to the NIArdquo a senior source said according to the PTIThe decision came only hours after Union Home Minister Amit Shah held a highlevel review of the security situation in the national capital and across other parts of the country in the aftermath of the explosion Shah is expected to chair another security assessment meeting on Tuesday afternoonThe Home Minister stated that leading investigative agencies are jointly probing the incident and will conduct a thorough inquiry into all aspects of the blastThe explosion occurred on Monday evening in a slowmoving car at a traffic signal near the Red Fort metro station killing at least 12 people and setting several vehicles ablaze according to officialsOn Monday evening a highintensity explosion erupted in a slowmoving Hyundai i20 car near the Red Fort in central Delhi The incident occurred at about 7 pm at the Subhash Marg traffic signal The Delhi Police have registered a case under sections 16 and 18 of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act UAPA the Explosives Act and relevant provisions of the Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita at Kotwali Police StationMultiple agencies have joined the investigation to determine the cause and motive behind the explosionMeanwhile in a major coordinated operation the Uttar Pradesh AntiTerrorism Squad ATS the Jammu and Kashmir Police and the Lucknow Police carried out joint raids at multiple locations across the state capital late on Monday evening and into early Tuesday morning The searches were reportedly linked to an ongoing probe into suspected terror activities and potential interstate network operations according to the ANIThe official sources told the ANI the joint teams executed searches in several areas including Khurram Nagar Indira Nagar and Mahanagar Several people have been detained for questioning and digital devices together with significant documents were seized during the operation Police sources stated that the raids followed intelligence inputs from the JampK Police indicating suspicious communications traced to Lucknow suggesting possible links between local individuals and operatives monitored by security agencies in Kashmir and other parts of North IndiaACP Saiyad Areeb Ahmad of the Aliganj division stated that a raid at a particular residence but declined to provide further details citing the sensitivity of the investigation However he disclosed ldquoNo one has been arrested so far This house belongs to a doctor Parvez Ansarirdquo In the immediate aftermath of the operation security has been heightened in several areas of Lucknow Agencies are additionally verifying whether the detained individuals have direct ties to terror outfits or sleeper cells operating in the region Further investigation is ongoing as per the ANIwith PTI and ANI inputs