Police officers and forensic technicians work at the site of an explosion in the old quarters of Delhi
Credit: Reuters Photo
New Delhi: Chaos and fear reigned supreme in Old Delhi on Monday evening as a blast tore through a busy intersection of Chandni Chowk, killing 8 people and injuring dozens. Onlookers and witnesses said that a small car was the cause of the blast, and tremors were felt in adjoining areas like Tiraha Behram Khan and Daryaganj.
The blast took place at the entrance of Chandni Chowk, where the road leading from Chandni Chowk meets Netaj Subhash Marg, opposite the Red Fort. The blast took place next to metro pillar 1 of the Jama Masjid metro station, situated near the famous Gauri Shankar temple. As soon as the blast took place, the police immediately closed the road leading from Dilli Gate to the blast site. A few minutes later, some roads were opened, but the area opposite Red Fort was cordoned off.
Rakesh, a dealer of food packaging, who was coming from Bhagirath Palace – an area within Chandni Chowk that deals in electricals – said that he had a narrow escape. “I was on the opposite road, saw a van move in the area when the blast took place, and suddenly heard a deafening noise. My ears started ringing, and when I looked, I saw a van was on fire,” he said.
He said that soon after he saw mangled bodies and fire that he left the area immediately.
Saroj, a businesswoman living in Daryaganj’s Nishad Raj Road nearby the historic Purdah Bagh, which is situated close to the blast site, said that she felt a huge tremor once the blast took place. “A glass window nearly fell on my daughter-in-law, and a few minutes later the police told us that the entire area is on high alert,” she said.
Shopkeepers in Daryaganj, Tiraha and other areas were asked to shut shop immediately. Mangat Ram, a chat seller at Daryaganj, said that the police from the nearby Daryaganj Police Station came minutes after and advised everyone to go home.
While Daryaganj wore a deserted look, ambulances continued to travel to and fro between the Lok Nayak Hospital, where the victims were rushed to, and the blast site.