India’s National Investigation Agency (NIA) said on Sunday that it had arrested a man for allegedly helping plan the car bombings near Delhi’s Red Fort last week that killed at least 10 people and injured more than 30 others.
In a statement posted on social media, the NIA said the suspect was a resident of Indian-administered Kashmir and “the vehicle involved in the attack was registered in his name.”
Investigators also released the name of the alleged suicide bomber, a resident of Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir’s Pulwama district, who was killed when the car he was driving stopped at a traffic light and exploded.
Investigators said they also seized another vehicle associated with the suspected suicide bomber. The suspect was working as an assistant professor at Al Falah University in Faridabad, Delhi, in the Indian state of Haryana. CNN has reached out to the university for comment.
CNN affiliate News 18 reported that on Wednesday, authorities said the suspected attackers had ties to Al Falah University, but the academic institution’s management said it had “no connection to the individuals other than those working in an official capacity at the university.”
The NIA said it has interviewed over 70 witnesses and is continuing to search for other witnesses who may have been involved in the blast.
The blast occurred near the city’s iconic Red Fort, also known as Lal Qila, a 17th-century monument and symbol of India’s independence. The area, a major tourist hub known for its crowded bazaars and street vendors, was quickly thrown into chaos.
The incident was an unusual event for a vast metropolis with a population of more than 30 million people, and caused devastation in central Delhi.
Footage of the aftermath showed dark orange flames billowing across a pitch-black sky, vehicles twisted and charred by the explosion, and victims strewn across the street.
Delhi Police Commissioner Satish Golcha told reporters on Tuesday that a “slow-moving” vehicle before the explosion “came to a halt” near a red light at around 6:42 p.m. local time.
“There was an explosion in that vehicle. The passengers in the vehicle and the people in the surrounding vehicles were shocked,” Golcha said.
At least six vehicles and three auto-rickshaws were set on fire in the hours after the explosion, Delhi Deputy Fire Commissioner said.
Sumit Kumar, head of the Delhi Fire Service, said emergency personnel arrived at the scene after receiving a call at 6:55 pm local time and extinguished the fire. The survivors were taken to a nearby hospital.
