Lal Quila blast: With three occupants in i20 car, does it rule out a fidayeen attack?

NEW DELHI: As the investigation into Monday’s Red Fort blast deepens, one question dominates discussions within security agencies — if three occupants were present in the Hyundai i20, can it still be classified as a fidayeen or suicide attack?Early Delhi Police findings suggested a possible fidayeen link after preliminary intelligence indicated the car’s last known owner was from Pulwama. However, forensic clues and CCTV footage showing multiple occupants inside the car moments before the explosion have complicated that theory.“If there were three people in the vehicle, it’s less likely all were suicide bombers,” a senior police source said. “Usually, a fidayeen mission involves one or two operatives — not a group in a moving car stuck in traffic.”Investigators are also analysing whether the car was being transported to a different target and detonated prematurely near the Red Fort. Data from mobile networks and dump analysis around the site has been pulled to trace communications. The theory being explored is that the occupants might have been carrying the device unintentionally or were part of a larger module unaware of the final plan.The explosion’s proximity to Red Fort — a high-value symbolic site — has raised suspicions that the location was deliberate. Yet, CCTV footage retrieved from the Red Fort parking area shows the vehicle entering and exiting minutes before the blast, suggesting reconnaissance or hesitation.

Agencies are not ruling out any angle, including an accidental explosion while the occupants were handling the device. “It’s possible they intended to strike elsewhere but triggered it inadvertently,” an NIA source said. For now, the mystery of the trio inside the i20 car remains central to determining whether the incident was a planned fidayeen strike or a botched transport of explosives.