Zeenews Bureau
New Delhi: A minor explosion took place in a car park outside the Delhi High Court on Wednesday afternoon, which, according to Delhi Police, was of low intensity. As a precautionary measure, a high alert has been sounded in Delhi and Quick Reaction Teams have been deployed at Railway Stations and other important installations.
The police sources further said the blast took place at 1.25 pm in a plastic bag placed near a white Ford Figo car carrying a registration number DL4C AS-7935, and not inside the car itself, as reported earlier.
The explosion broke an eight-month lull after a similar explosion near Jama Masjid ahead of the Commonwealth Games. Police officials are not ruling out foul play amid speculation that terrorist outfit Indian Mujahideen (IM) could be behind the blast.
The blast of a crude bomb, which had some nail-like shrapnel, a battery-like object and ammonium nitrate, took place in a service lane outside the court where lawyers' vehicles were parked.
Delhi Police Special Commissioner (Law and Order) Dharmendra Kumar said the blast was caused by a low-intensity explosive in which no one was injured.
"It was not a life-threatening blast... It was a small blast... The explosion took place in a small plastic bag," he said.
"The bag was kept outside the car, just near the bonnet," Kumar said, adding even the car was not damaged by it.
He said the type of explosive is unknown and they have collected traces of detonators, some wires and a motorcycle battery from the spot and were trying to find out the trigger mechanism of the explosive.
Forensic tests will be carried out on the contents of the bag to ascertain the material that was kept inside the bag. However, preliminary investigation has revealed that the impact of the blast could have been severe if it was packed properly.
The explosion took place near the Gate No. 7 of the High Court. It was earlier being speculated that the car’s radiator might have blasted due to intense heat.
The Police Control Room had received information about the blast at about 1.24 pm. Soon after, ambulances, fire brigades were rushed to the site of explosion along with the police. A bomb disposal squad is also at the site. In addition to it, some officials of National Security Guards (NSG) also reached the blast site to analyse the material used in the explosion.
The Ford Figo belonged to a lawyer by the name of Mr R Jain, who was in the canteen having lunch when he heard a loud sound. Rushing out, he discovered that an explosion had taken place near his car.
No injuries or casualties have been reported, though few cars placed in the vicinity of Ford Figo got damaged.
In view of the blast, the security outside shopping malls and important business complexes have been tightened and local residents have been asked to report to police about any unattended article or suspected persons moving in the area.
Delhi Police's elite anti-terror wing Special Cell will investigate the explosion outside the court.
With PTI Inputs
First Published: Thursday, May 26, 2011, 00:10