India’s cabinet on Wednesday called this week’s deadly car explosion in the capital a terror attack carried out by “antinational forces”, though it did not release any new evidence linked to the blast.
Earlier on Wednesday, authorities said several suspects had been arrested in the disputed Kashmir region as part of the investigation into the blast on Monday near the historic Red Fort monument that killed eight people and injured several others.
Authorities on Tuesday announced that they were investigating it as possible terrorism – a step that gives investigating authorities broader powers to arrest or detain people. But they have not publicly detailed their evidence.
The federal cabinet of ministers, in a resolution passed late on Wednesday, called the car explosion “a heinous terror incident, perpetrated by antinational forces”. It provided no further details.
Red Fort, a major tourist attraction, is a 17th-century monument and the place where Indian prime ministers deliver Independence Day speeches on August 15 each year. If confirmed as a deliberate attack, it would be the deadliest such blast in India’s capital since 2011.
At least five people were detained for questioning in a series of raids overnight in Kashmir’s southern Pulwama district, police officials said on Wednesday.
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