A loud sound caused allegedly by a bus tyre burst sparked panic in southwest Delhi’s Mahipalpur area on Thursday morning, days after the Red Fort blast heightened public anxiety, officials said.
According to the Delhi Fire Services, cited by news agency PTI, a call was received at 9.19 am reporting a “blast-like” sound near the Radisson Hotel in Mahipalpur. Three fire tenders were immediately rushed to the spot. However, after thorough checking, officials confirmed that no suspicious activity or object was found.
The cause of the noise was later identified “during local enquiry,” when “a guard informed that the rear tyre of a DTC bus going towards Dhaula Kuan had burst and the sound came from that,” Deputy Commissioner of Police (Southwest) Amit Goel said, as reported by the news agency.
He added, “The caller was contacted and he informed that while he was on the way to Gurugram, a loud noise was heard. We checked everything and nothing was found.”
The DCP assured that the situation was normal and there was no cause for concern.
Delhiites remain on edge after the tragic blast near the Red Fort on Monday evening (November 10) claimed at least 10 lives and left more than 20 others injured. Security across the capital has been stepped up, with investigators now treating the explosion as a “terror incident.”
Delhi blast: Latest update
The Delhi Police on Thursday confirmed through DNA testing that the man who executed the blast in a white Hyundai i20 outside the Red Fort on Monday evening was identified as Dr Umar Un Nabi, a 35-year-old resident of Pulwama in Jammu and Kashmir who worked in Haryana’s Faridabad.
According to officials, DNA samples were collected from a severed leg found trapped between the car’s accelerator and steering wheel. Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) experts have verbally informed investigators of the match, though the complete DNA report is still awaited. The DNA sample of Nabi’s mother, collected in Pulwama, was brought to Delhi for confirmation.
Nabi was employed as an assistant professor at Al Falah University in Faridabad. Police earlier said he was linked to Dr Muzammil Shakeel Ganaie and Dr Adeel Rather, both arrested in Jammu and Kashmir last week for allegedly stockpiling over 2,900 kg of ammonium nitrate, detonators, timers, and assault rifles in Faridabad.
Security agencies are now working to trace and arrest the remaining members of the module that allegedly orchestrated the Red Fort blast.