Modi Promises Justice as Police Explore Terror Motives Behind Fatal Delhi Explosion

Prime Minister Narendra Modi vowed that no one responsible for the New Delhi explosion that claimed eight lives would escape justice, as investigators started focusing on the possibility of a terrorist act.

If found to be intentional, the explosion—set off near a subway station in the old quarter of the capital during peak hours—would represent the deadliest incident in New Delhi in more than a decade, breaking a long stretch of relative calm in Indian cities outside the tense Kashmir region.

Modi, who arrived in Bhutan for an official visit on Tuesday, said he had been coordinating with investigative agencies throughout the night.

“Those who conspired in this will not be spared,” Modi stated. “Every person involved will be brought before the law.”

India has often blamed Pakistan for sponsoring attacks through militant groups operating from safe havens across the border. A major terrorist strike earlier this year that killed 26 people in Indian-administered Kashmir sparked days of military tension between the two nuclear-armed neighbors.

Following that assault, Modi’s government warned that any new terrorist act on Indian soil would be treated as an “act of war.”

Officials said the investigation into Monday’s explosion is pursuing several leads. However, police confirmed on Tuesday they are examining whether the incident qualifies as a terror attack. In addition to the eight fatalities, a dozen people suffered injuries.

Raja Banthia, a senior police officer in New Delhi, told journalists early Tuesday at the scene that a case had been registered under provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, a statute commonly used in terrorism-related probes. The National Investigation Agency, India’s main counterterrorism body, is now overseeing the inquiry.

Home Minister Amit Shah inspected the site on Monday evening and led a meeting with top security officials the following morning. His office has not yet shared findings or updates about the forensic tests on evidence gathered from the scene.

The explosion came just hours after police announced they had dismantled an “interstate and cross-border terror network,” seizing arms and a large cache of explosives linked to Jaish-e-Mohammed, a Pakistan-based group repeatedly accused of organizing attacks inside India. Following a spring attack on a tourist spot in Kashmir, India had carried out airstrikes targeting the group’s infrastructure in Pakistan.

Police in Jammu and Kashmir, a region disputed by both India and Pakistan, said they traced connections to towns outside Delhi, arresting six suspects—including several doctors—and confiscating more than 6,000 pounds of bomb-making materials such as chemicals, electronic devices, and remote detonators.

Investigators have zeroed in on the vehicle used in Monday’s attack and its driver. Police in Kashmir suspect his links with the dismantled network, many of whose members reportedly worked at the same medical facility on Delhi’s outskirts. Authorities in New Delhi, however, have not publicly confirmed any such links.

The explosion hit the Red Fort district, one of Delhi’s busiest areas leading to the city’s traditional markets and historic attractions.

Leeladhar Vishvkarma, 34, a cook from Madhya Pradesh who had come to Delhi seeking employment, described the blast as “earthshaking.”

“After the initial explosion, smaller blasts went off in several vehicles,” he recalled. “People were killed both inside cars and on the roadside.”