Agencies probing Red Fort blast with full intensity; explosion in Hyundai i20 car: Amit Shah
New Delhi (PTI): Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday said that top investigating agencies are probing the blast near Red Fort with full intensity, and will go in-depth into the explosion which took place in a Hyundai i20 car.
Citing hospital authorities, the home minister said eight people lost their lives while several others received injuries in the blast, and the investigators are keeping all options open while probing the incident.
Top agencies are investigating the incident with full intensity, and they will go in-depth into the incident, Shah said.
The blast took place in a Hyundai i20 car at a traffic signal near the Red Fort around 7 pm, damaging three to four other vehicles and injuring pedestrians and people travelling in auto-rickshaws, he added.
All angles are being probed by the investigators, and no possibility is being ruled out, he said after meeting some of the injured persons at the LNJP Hospital.
Asked if it was a terror attack, Shah said, "It is difficult to say what caused the incident. Until the samples recovered from the blast site are analysed by forensic authorities and NSG, we can't say anything. But we are not ruling out anything, and investigating the matter from all angles."
Teams of Delhi Police, NIA, NSG and FSL have started the probe, he said, and hoped that the exact details of the blast would be unearthed soon.
Shah also visited the blast site and said he will hold a high-level meeting with top officials on Tuesday to analyse the blast.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has spoken to him, and he has briefed him about the blast, Shah said.
Stating that he was pained beyond words by the loss of lives in the blast, the home minister said, "My deepest condolences to those who have lost their loved ones. I have visited the blast site and also met the injured in the hospital. My prayers are there for their quick recovery."
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Rupee falls 9 paise to all-time low of 90.58 against US dollar in early trade
Mumbai (PTI): Rupee depreciated 9 paise to an all-time low of 90.58 against US dollar in early trade on Monday, weighed down by uncertainty over an India-US trade deal and persistent foreign fund outflows.
Forex traders said rupee is trading with a negative bias as investors are in wait and watch mode and awaiting cues from the India-US trade deal front.
At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened at 90.53 against the US dollar, then fell further to an all-time intraday low of 90.58 against the greenback, registering a fall of 9 paise over its previous close.
On Friday, the rupee had slipped 17 paise to close at an all-time low of 90.49 against the American currency.
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.05 per cent lower at 98.35.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was trading higher by 0.52 per cent at USD 61.44 per barrel in futures trade.
On the domestic equity market front, the 30-share benchmark index Sensex was trading 298.86 points lower at 84,968.80, while the Nifty was down 121.40 points at 25,925.55.
Foreign Institutional Investors sold equities worth Rs 1,114.22 crore on Friday, according to exchange data.
"FPIs continue to be in selling mode in equity and debt while RBI has been selling dollars to fund their long positions," said Anil Kumar Bhansali, Head of Treasury and Executive Director Finrex Treasury Advisors LLP.
