Red Fort car explosion: What prompted Delhi cops to initially say it was a CNG blast?

NEW DELHI: In the immediate aftermath of the Red Fort explosion, Delhi Police officials initially announced that the blast appeared to be caused by a CNG cylinder. That assessment, however, changed drastically within hours — raising questions about what led to the first misjudgment.When first responders arrived, they saw the Hyundai i20 completely engulfed in flames, its frame torn apart. The car’s CNG kit was visible amid the wreckage, leading officers to assume a cylinder rupture had triggered the fire. “At that stage, there were no visible fragments or blast marks typical of explosives,” said an officer from Daryaganj police station.

The assumption was further reinforced by the presence of burnt fuel residue and heat signatures, resembling a combustion fire. But as videos emerged online showing bodies flung across lanes and secondary vehicles on fire, experts began disputing the CNG theory. “The shockwave and body dispersal pattern don’t align with a CNG explosion,” a retired NSG bomb disposal expert noted.By late evening, the Delhi Police Special Cell had roped in the FSL and NSG teams, who pointed out that the temperature and flame colour were inconsistent with compressed natural gas.

“CNG burns blue and rarely projects flames over long distances. Here, the blaze was deep orange — a sign of chemical fuel or accelerant,” an investigator said.The rapid shift in police statements highlights how early assumptions can complicate terror investigations. Senior officers later clarified that the CNG theory was only a preliminary observation pending forensic confirmation.Now, with multiple agencies examining the case, the early misclassification underscores how an unfamiliar explosive composition or chemical reaction may have misled first responders — and why the true nature of the Red Fort blast remains elusive even hours later.