Delhi blast: Tracking the Hyundai i20 that exploded near Red Fort - drove through Capital for hours, crossed Badarpur border at 8am

Delhi Police are piecing together a detailed 11-hour trail of the Hyundai i20 that exploded near the Red Fort on Monday evening, killing at least twelve people and injuring several others. CCTV footage and communication records are being used as key evidence as agencies probe what investigators believe may have been a terror attack.

Delhi Red Fort blast: Follow live updates
According to ANI, the vehicle started its journey in Faridabad early on Monday and was caught on cameras across multiple locations before the blast. Police say the car was driven by a lone occupant who appears masked in CCTV clips. The explosion set nearby vehicles ablaze and flung human remains and car parts across a wide radius, leaving an immediate scene of fire and chaos.

The case has now been transferred to the National Investigation Agency (NIA), after a review led by Home Minister Amit Shah, PTI reported. With eight people arrested earlier the same day in connection with a wider terror module linked to Jaish-e-Mohammed and Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind, the blast is being investigated as part of a larger conspiracy spanning Kashmir, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh.


How the car moved: route mapped in 11 hours, as reported by ANI:

• 7.30am: Car first sighted outside Asian Hospital, Faridabad
• 8.13am: Crosses Badarpur toll plaza and enters Delhi
• 8.20am: Spotted near a petrol pump in Okhla Industrial Area
• 3.19pm: Enters parking near Red Fort complex; stays for ~3 hours
• 6.22pm: Car leaves parking and moves towards Red Fort
• 6.52pm: Massive explosion inside the slow-moving car

Investigators told ANI the car was driven slowly before the blast — a detail that has prompted agencies to probe whether another location was the intended target. The Rapid Action Force, Crime Branch, FSL teams and Delhi Police sealed the area and evacuated tourists soon after the explosion.

Sources told ANI that after a Faridabad terror module was busted earlier on Monday, the suspected driver may have switched to a fidayeen-style strike to maximise casualties and avoid arrest. More than 100 CCTV clips from toll plazas and city roads are now under scrutiny, with route tracking extending into Delhi’s old quarters around Daryaganj and Paharganj.

Pulwama doctor under scanner; DNA match underway

PTI reported that investigators have zeroed in on Dr Umar Nabi, a doctor from Lethpora, Pulwama, believed to be behind the wheel of the i20. Nabi is thought to have died in the blast, and Jammu and Kashmir Police have taken his mother’s DNA sample to match remains recovered from the mangled car.

Umar was reportedly linked to two doctors arrested earlier in the Faridabad module — Dr Muzammil Ganaie and Dr Shaheen Sayeed, both connected to Al-Falah University, from where 360 kg of ammonium nitrate was seized. Investigators allege Shaheen led Jaish-e-Mohammed’s women recruitment wing in India. PTI said Umar feared he would be caught after the arrests and may have carried out the attack to avoid capture.

Police say the i20 was given to Umar by a man named Tariq from Pulwama, who is now under arrest. Four people have also been detained in Kashmir, with two moved for joint interrogation by Delhi Police and intelligence agencies.

Preliminary forensic examination suggests ammonium nitrate, fuel oil and detonators could have been used — similar to material seized hours before the attack. A suicide strike has not been ruled out.

Blast impact, panic and investigation

At least twelve people were killed as reported by PTI and 30 injured, with bodies and metal fragments scattered up to 25 metres from the scene. Three nearby vehicles caught fire as plumes of smoke and flame shot into the air. Police commissioner Satish Golcha said the car was moving slowly when it reached a traffic signal at 6:52 pm and then exploded. Seven fire tenders, Delhi Police, the Special Cell, NSG and NIA teams rushed to the spot.

Investigators are scanning dump data from mobile networks around Red Fort to identify devices that went inactive immediately after the blast — a sign of possible accomplices switching off phones. CCTV footage shows only one person inside the car and police are examining footage of multiple parking lots where the vehicle waited for three hours.

The car was registered in Gurgaon to a man named Salman, but was later transferred and allegedly fell into the hands of the Pulwama module. Delhi Police have registered a case under the UAPA and the Explosives Act. A city-wide alert has been sounded: all border points are checking vehicles, the Red Fort Metro Station remains closed, and advisory-led traffic diversions are in place.

Hotels and guest houses in Daryaganj and Paharganj have been searched for possible accomplices. Mobile phones, IPDR data and communication records linked to Faridabad and NCR are being analysed.

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