New Delhi: There was a low intensity blast outside the Delhi High Court complex on Wednesday as a crude bomb exploded, police said. There were no casualties or damage.
The blast occurred around 1.15 p.m., a busy weekday afternoon when the court was in session, just a few meters from the Delhi High Court complex.
The explosion took place close to a silver Ford Figo car in a parking bay behind the court premises, close to a monument.
“A small packet was kept close to a car in the parking near gate number seven of the Delhi High Court,” Special Commissioner of Police Dharmendra Kumar told reporters.
He denied reports that there was shrapnel in the packet.
Kumar said it initially looked as if the blast had occurred in the car belonging to lawyer R. Jain. Investigations showed it was a crude bomb.
“It was not an accident,” he stressed, adding that white powder was found around the car.
“The car with registration number DL4C AF 7935 suffered only superficial damage” Kumar said, adding that no one was injured.
“It was a low intensity blast. It is an open access area and anyone can come here. The lawyer to whom the car belonged had nothing to do with the blast,” Kumar said.
He said no damage occurred to any other car in the parking.
An eyewitness, Sanjay Bhatt, said: “There was a sudden blast in the parking lot. We rushed to the spot and found a black bag burning beside the car.”
Parking attendant Dharamvir said they doused the fire. “We rushed to the court canteen and brought buckets of water to douse the fire,” the man told IANS.
Police said it was too early to ascertain the motive behind the blast. The last incident of terror attack here took place in September 2008 when bomb blasts in five different places left 26 people dead and more than 100 injured.
Delhi High Court Bar Association secretary D.K. Sharma alleged conspiracy behind Wednesday’s blast and sought better security.
“It is a conspiracy, someone intentionally kept the bag. All the vehicles will be allowed to enter after proper security.”
Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Justice G.S. Sistani visited the spot and said they would review security in the court premises.