India says Delhi blast was 'terror incident', sources cite possible link with Kashmir arrests

By Shivam Patel

NEW DELHI/SRINAGAR, India (Reuters) -India's government confirmed on Wednesday that it was treating a car blast that killed eight people and wounded at least 20 others in Delhi as a "terror incident" and vowed to bring the perpetrators to justice as swiftly as possible.

Earlier, three sources familiar with the investigation said police were checking whether there was a link between the blast and the previous arrest of a group of seven men from the restive Kashmir region with arms and bomb-making material.

The blast on Monday evening outside Delhi’s historic Red Fort was the first such explosion in the heavily guarded city of more than 30 million people since 2011.

Indian authorities are investigating the blast under a stringent anti-terrorism law and have said that all angles are being probed. They have not named anyone or made any arrests in connection with the explosion.

In a resolution adopted late on Wednesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's cabinet said: "The country has witnessed a heinous terror incident, perpetrated by anti-national forces, through a car explosion."

"The Cabinet directs that the investigation into the incident be pursued with the utmost urgency and professionalism so that the perpetrators, their collaborators, and their sponsors are identified and brought to justice without delay."

TWO DOCTORS AMONG SEVEN ARRESTED IN KASHMIR REGION

Hours before the blast in Delhi, police in the Jammu and Kashmir federal territory said they had arrested seven men, including two doctors, in connection with a separate anti-terror probe and searches in Kashmir, and in the states of Haryana and Uttar Pradesh that border Delhi.

Police found two pistols, two assault rifles and 2,900 kg of bomb-making material during the raids, a Kashmir police statement said.

"The investigation has revealed a white-collar terror ecosystem, involving radicalised professionals and students in contact with foreign handlers, operating from Pakistan and other countries," it said, adding that the men were linked to Pakistan-based militant groups Jaish-e-Mohammad and Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind.

Pakistan's foreign office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

India accuses Pakistan of supporting Islamist militants in Kashmir, the Himalayan region which both nations claim, but Islamabad denies the accusation. Tens of thousands of people have been killed in an anti-Indian insurgency there since 1989 although violence has tapered off in recent years.

In April, 26 men were killed in an attack on Hindu tourists in Kashmir which New Delhi blamed on what it called Islamist "terrorists" backed by Pakistan, a charge denied by Islamabad.

The crisis led to the worst military conflict between the nuclear-armed rivals in decades before they agreed to a ceasefire after four days.

RAIDS IN KASHMIR

Police are investigating a possible connection between the driver of the car that exploded and the seven men arrested, the three sources said, speaking on condition of anonymity as they were not authorised to speak about the sensitive issue.

Investigations are focused on whether the driver was a doctor and a colleague of one of the two arrested, one of the sources said.

Spokespersons for the Delhi Police and the National Investigation Agency - the federal anti-terror agency that has taken over the probe - did not respond to requests for comment.

Following the Delhi blast, Kashmir police carried out raids at hundreds of locations in the Himalayan region and about 500 people were detained, a Kashmir police source told Reuters. Most were let off after questioning, the source said.

(Reporting by Shivam Patel and Fayaz Bukhari; additional reporting by Kanjyik Ghosh; Writing by YP Rajesh; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan and Gareth Jones)