Red Fort blast: Police searches Delhi hotels night long; detains 4 suspects

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NEW DELHI: Delhi police has arrested at least four suspects linked to the Red Fort blast on Monday night, news agency ANI reported citing sources.Sources told the ANI, that Delhi Police conducted searches throughout the night at hotels in Paharganj, Daryaganj areas of the national capital.Teams checked hotel registers during the searches and detained four suspects for questioning.This comes after high-intensity explosion ripped through a slow-moving car at a traffic signal near the Red Fort metro station on Monday evening, killing at least nine people and gutting several vehicles, officials said.Twenty people, including two women, were injured in the blast that took place on a busy evening when the area was milling with people. The injured were taken to the LNJP Hospital, a few kilometres away.Police registers FIR under UAPA Act, Explosives Act Delhi Police registered a case in connection with the blast near the historic Red Fort in the city under various Sections of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), the Explosives Act, and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita."A case has been registered under sections 16, 18 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and various sections of the Explosives Act and the BNS at the Kotwali Police Station," Delhi Police said.First visuals of suspect emergeMeanwhile, Delhi Police have obtained CCTV footage showing the suspect's car entering and exiting the parking area, ANI reported citing sources. According to the Delhi Police sources, the footage indicates that the suspect was alone at the time."Investigators are now tracing the route towards Daryaganj, while more than 100 CCTV clips, including footage from nearby toll plazas, are being examined to establish the complete movement of the vehicle," the sources added.The vehicle bearing registration number HR 26CE 7674 was parked in a nearby parking lot for over two hours before the blast.A CCTV grab shows the car entering the parking lot with the driver’s hand resting on the window, while another image shows him wearing a blue-and-black T-shirt.'Some body parts in the car'While briefing media, DCP North Raja Banthia said that the investigation is under way and Delhi Police FSL team and NSG are present at the spot where the blast occurred.He said that police found some body parts in the car in which the blast took place."Teams from the NSG, Delhi Police and FSL are present at the spot and are investigating the entire crime scene. The investigation is ongoing. There are some body parts in the car (in which the blast took place). The FSL team is collecting them; so let's see how it connects," DCP North Raja Banthia said."FSL is lifting the traces of explosives...We are examining the scene of the crime," he added.i-20 car trail shows likely link to PulwamaDelhi Police's initial probe in the high-intensity explosion outside the Red Fort suggests i20 car's trail to Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama, said Delhi Police's sources.According to the sources, the I-20 car, in which the blast occurred, was allegedly purchased by a resident of Pulwama.The Delhi Police have also obtained CCTV footage showing the suspect's car entering and exiting the parking area near the Red Fort, sources said.According to the Delhi Police sources, the footage indicates that the suspect was alone at the time."Investigators are now tracing the route towards Daryaganj, while more than 100 CCTV clips, including footage from nearby toll plazas, are being examined to establish the complete movement of the vehicle," the sources added.CCTV footage being meticulously reviewed, 200 cops involvedAccording to Delhi Police, CCTV footage from multiple locations has been meticulously reviewed, including from the Badarpur border to the parking area of the Red Fort's Sunheri Masjid, as well as from the Outer Ring Road to the Kashmere Gate-Red Fort route.Nearly 200 police personnel were involved in examining footage across various routes.According to the sources, the i20 car, in which the blast had occurred, had entered Delhi from Haryana via Badarpur.As per sources, based on CCTV evidence from different locations, around 13 people are currently under scrutiny and being questioned. A person linked to the Faridabad module, is suspected to have been traveling in the i20 car, though the identity of a deceased individual will only be confirmed after DNA testing.This comes in the wake of the Jammu and Kashmir and Haryana Police's joint recovery of 360 kg of explosive material and ammunition from Faridabad in Haryana, during which two persons, Dr Muzammil and Aadil Rather, were arrested.