New Delhi: A massive explosion took place near a Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) school in Prashant Vihar in Delhi’s Rohini on Sunday, triggering panic among area residents who mistook it as a terror strike.
No one was injured in the blast that took place around 7.45 a.m. There is no confirmation yet if it was an act of terror but there were indications of possible use of a crude bomb.
A high-security alert has been sounded in the Capital, police said.
Sources said a powder-like white residue collected from the blast site was sent for forensic test.
However, investigators refused to confirm or deny whether the powder was similar to ammonium nitrate – an ingredient used in the manufacture of commercial explosives.
The explosion probably took place in material stored or concealed inside the school along its boundary wall or in a sewer line passing close to the wall, sources said.
Soon after the blast, Special CP, Special Cell, R. P. Upadhyay reached the spot to lead the investigation by bomb disposal and dog squads. Delhi Police have registered an FIR under the Explosives Act.
Investigators from the NIA, the CRPF, and the NSG also joined the investigation during the day.
The probe would also look into any conspiracy angle or to confirm it the blast was an attempt to send a terror warning to the paramilitary force that runs the educational institution, sources said.
The explosion damaged the school’s wall, windowpanes of cars, and signboards of shops, about 100 feet away from the blast spot on the other side of a road in Block-B in Prashant Vihar, police said.
Investigators have collected CCTV footage of the incident from shops facing the blast spot to identify and question individuals moving around in the area before the blast.
The CCTV footage showed a cloud of smoke rising after a blast which took place inside the school’s boundary wall.
Soon after the incident, an eyewitness said, “I was at home. I heard a loud sound, saw a cloud of smoke and recorded the video. I do not know anything more. A police team and an ambulance have reached the spot.”
Another eyewitness said the noise was so loud that he felt dizzy after the explosion.
(IANS)
