The death toll from the Red Fort i20 car explosion has risen to 12, officials confirmed today as hospitals completed additional postmortems and DNA verifications. The blast, which detonated near Red Fort Metro Gate No.1 late yesterday, severely damaged multiple vehicles and scattered debris and human remains across a wide radius indicators of the blast’s extreme intensity. Forensic teams and the FSL continue systematic evidence recovery at the cordoned parking hotspot, cataloguing fragments and measuring blast dispersion to establish the weapon’s signature. Authorities report that several victims were badly burned, complicating visual identification; DNA sampling and laboratory checks are ongoing to complete identification and release bodies to families. Investigators are also piecing together the car’s route and ownership chain, and examining CCTV, mobile-tower data and communications to trace conspiratorial links across Faridabad, Saharanpur and Jammu & Kashmir. Central agencies, including NIA and NSG units, remain actively engaged while the Home Ministry coordinates a high-level response. Officials caution against premature conclusions: laboratory blast-analysis and toxicology results are expected to clarify whether conventional explosives such as ammonium nitrate were used or if a mechanical failure triggered the tragedy. Meanwhile, Delhi remains on high alert, security has been tightened around historic sites and crowded markets, and citizens are urged to follow official advisories as the probe advances.


