NEW DELHI: Union Home Minister Amit Shah visited the site of a devastating car explosion near the Red Fort Metro Station on Monday evening, where a high-intensity blast claimed at least 13 lives so far and injured over two dozen others, and emphasized that investigators are leaving "no stone unturned" in exploring all potential causes, including terrorism. Although he said that at the moment nothing could be conclusively concluded until the samples from the blast site are analyzed by forensic experts.

Accompanied by Delhi Police Commissioner Satish Golcha and top security officials, Shah first stopped at LNJP Hospital, where he met with the injured, consoled families, and held a closed-door briefing with Golcha and other officials. Shah's on-ground assessment came just hours after the incident, underscoring the government's resolve amid heightened national security concerns triggered by a massive explosives seizure in nearby Faridabad early on Monday.

The Home Minister reiterated a message of caution and determination: "We are keeping all angles open and investigating from all angles. It is very difficult to say what caused the incident until the samples from the blast site are analyzed by forensic experts and the National Security Guard. However, we are not ruling out any possibility." He added that a high-level meeting with probing agencies, including the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and Intelligence Bureau (IB), would convene at the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) early Tuesday to review progress.

The explosion, which occurred at approximately 6:52 PM IST at the Subhash Marg traffic signal adjacent to Gate No. 1 of the Red Fort Metro Station, originated from a Haryana-registered Hyundai i20 car that had slowed to a halt at a red light. Eyewitnesses described a deafening roar followed by a fireball that engulfed the vehicle and rapidly spread to at least six cars, four motorcycles, and three e-rickshaws, shattering windows and scattering debris across the bustling Chandni Chowk area—a UNESCO World Heritage zone teeming with tourists and locals during evening hours. One eyewitness who was present near the site of the blast described it as if there was an earthquake: "It was like the ground shook due to an earthquake," he said.

The death toll, initially reported at eight, climbed to 13 by late evening, with victims including two tourists, a metro security guard, and three children among the injured suffering from severe burns, shrapnel wounds, and smoke inhalation. Seven fire tenders doused the flames within an hour, but the scene remained cordoned off as forensic teams sifted through wreckage for clues. Delhi Police have detained the car's original owner, traced to Gurgaon, and are interrogating a subsequent buyer from Pulwama, Jammu and Kashmir, though no arrests have been confirmed in direct connection to the blast.