The blast was than 1.4 km from Vijaya Chowk, where President Ram Nath Kovind, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other senior government members had gathered
A “very low-intensity” IED (improvised explosive device) was detonated near the Israeli embassy in the heart of central Delhi on Friday evening, the police have said, adding that no injuries or property damage, apart from shattered windscreens of nearby cars, had been reported.
The blast took place 1.4 kilometres from Vijaya Chowk, where President Ram Nath Kovind, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other senior members of the government had gathered, amid extremely heavy security, for the Beating the Retreat ceremony.
As part of SOP (standard operating procedure) in such situations, an alert has been issued at all airports, important installations and government buildings in the country, and “enhanced security measures have been put in place”, the CISF (Central Industrial Security Force) has said.
Police sources said the explosive, which an initial probe suggests had ball bearings as part of the IED’s makeup, had been wrapped up in a plastic bag and left on the pavement outside the Jindal residence, which is just metres away from the embassy.
The entire area – the embassy is located on Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Road – has been cordoned off and senior Delhi Police officers, as well as those from the Special Cell and other intelligence agencies, have reached the spot.
Visuals from the area showed a heavy deployment of police and security personnel standing outside the embassy, with yellow Delhi Police barricades set up at both ends of the road.
The blast comes days after Home Minister Amit Shah met with the Delhi Police Commissioner and the heads of intelligence agencies to discuss security in the national capital.
Source: NDTV