How police action in the first 10 minutes after the Red Fort blast led to faster investigation and less casualties. india news

At 6.52 pm on November 10, the official mobile phone of the Deputy Commissioner of Police (North District) rang and the caller said: “There has been an explosion in front of the Red Fort… Many people have been injured… Many vehicles have been damaged.”

Between 6.52 pm and 7.02 pm – the first 10 minutes after the blast, which later turned out to be a suicide bombing-style terrorist attack, Delhi Police not only evacuated most of the seriously injured to hospitals, but also cordoned off the impact site, diverted traffic, alerted other first responders and alerted nearby vehicles to avoid any further blasts.

These first 10 minutes were crucial not only in paving the way for a quick and uncompromising investigation, but also helped in keeping casualties low and controlling panic.

news18 Gives a minute-by-minute account of what happened in the first 10 minutes after the explosion:

6.52 pm: One minute after the blast

When the first distress call was responded to at 6.52 pm, no one knew that it was an attack allegedly carried out by the Jaish-e-Mohammed terror module. Despite this, the first guidelines that came forward focused on evacuation and rescue.

As soon as the Red Fort police post staff, which usually consists of 12 to 13 policemen, reached the spot, one team came to take care of the injured, while the other focused on evacuation, cordon and sanitisation.

DCP Raja Banthia said, “The scale of the explosion was unknown in the first minutes, but the nature of the injuries to the affected people were serious. Therefore, our immediate focus was on getting them to medical care. Initially, the explosion was caused by CNG or cylinder explosion in some vehicle, so efforts were made to prevent the fire from spreading to other petrol vehicles in the vicinity.”

Banthia said the teams were focusing on three things: rescue, evacuation and cordoning off the area to minimize the impact.

6.53 pm: First rescue

Within seconds of the blast, the first rescue was done: a woman, who was lying unconscious near the divider on the main road in front of the Red Fort. He was bleeding profusely and his clothes were also torn, he was picked up by Head Constable Than Singh and put in an e-rickshaw.

“She was middle-aged, around 40 to 45 years old. I picked her up and put her in an e-rickshaw and asked the driver to take her to LNJP hospital, which is the nearest one. I sent one of the locals with her to ensure that the rickshaw driver followed the instructions,” Singh said.

He said that as soon as the woman left, another man, who suffered serious burn injuries, was put in an auto-rickshaw and sent to the hospital.

“Because we are familiar with the rickshaw pullers and market association people in and around the Red Fort, they all came willingly and helped us rescue the injured. This was helpful in keeping the casualties down,” he said.

6.54 pm: Crisis message spread

As the rescue continued, the distress call spread to other first responders. Given the scale of the devastation, not only the nearest police stations were alerted and additional personnel were called in, but other disaster responders like the Delhi Fire Service and ambulances were also alerted.

A police officer said, “Within 2-3 minutes of the incident, we realized that we would need a large number of personnel not only to expedite the rescue but also to cordon off the site. Since this was the main arterial road that connects the Old Delhi Railway Station to Daryaganj and Central Delhi areas, the traffic was heavy and so was the number of pedestrians. It was important to cordon off the area and at the same time, clear it to ensure that there was no second threat.” Which was on the ground.

6.55 pm: Site cordoned off, traffic diverted

The main road – Netaji Subhash Marg, which passes in front of the Red Fort, was closed. This led to massive traffic jam, which was later diverted, additional manpower was deployed, help was sought from local residents and market association members and traffic was cleared on the affected road.

By then, the impact site had also been initially cordoned off with barricades and human chains, while adequate arrangements were still in place, the official said. To decongest traffic on the adjacent carriageway, blockades were also imposed towards Chatta Rail Junction and on Shanti One Road and Ansari Road.

6.56 pm: Red Fort metro station put on alert

While vehicular movement was taken care of, the Red Fort metro station, one of the busiest stops in the city, was barely 20 meters from the blast site. Senior officials then directed a police team to go to the metro station, not only to alert the CISF personnel guarding the metro stations, but also to limit the access of passengers to the impact site.

A rescue official said, “It was important to decontaminate the area. It is a busy metro station and because of Chandni Chowk, one of the busiest markets in the city just across the road, a huge crowd is seen at this station. We were only in the fifth or sixth minute of the blast and hence, all precautions were taken to prevent any subsequent untoward incident.”

6.57 pm: Cops turn into firefighters

Since the fire brigade had not yet arrived and some vehicles were still burning at the accident site, showing their presence of mind, the police teams that reached the underground metro station activated the fire fighting system with the help of DMRC staff and took out a hose to extinguish the burning vehicles.

This not only helped a lot in extinguishing the fire but also limited the risk of it spreading to other vehicles. Since there were many e-rickshaws at the spot, police officials also removed their batteries and threw them aside to save them from exploding.

6.58 pm: Area cleared to avoid secondary threat

Amidst all the chaos, a dedicated team was tasked with cleaning the inner circle around the site. This was necessary to avoid any secondary danger. Since first responders did not know what type of eruption it was, they wanted to be prepared for any follow-up incident.

All vehicles, dustbins, debris, roadside garbage, flower pots and other surrounding items were thoroughly checked and cleaned for any potential hazards. A senior officer present at the spot said, it was an elaborate but important exercise conducted at a sensitive time when the rescue was still going on.

“Our teams were still trying to control the fire and there were screams all around, not only among the injured but also among the local residents, passers-by and the huge crowd that had gathered there,” the officer said.

6.59 pm: Public announcements begin

The police had to activate their public address system to disperse the crowd. Since both Red Fort and Chandni Chowk market on the opposite side see huge crowds daily, police teams deployed in the area have active PA systems.

As the crowd began to grow around the blast site, announcements were made asking people to disperse and allow police to cordon off the area. The market gates on the main road were closed, layers of barricades were put up to prevent people from coming closer and policemen were also deployed in the streets to prevent anyone from reaching the main road.

7 pm: Delhi Fire Service arrived

In a major relief to the police, Delhi Fire Service (DFS) teams reached the spot, with fire tenders passing through heavy traffic, which had by now blocked all roads leading to the Red Fort. The burning vehicles were now taken care of by the DFS and, as soon as the fire was completely extinguished, cooling operations began.

An official said this needed to be done carefully as we did not want any evidence to be washed away or destroyed, which we knew would later help us trace the cause of the blast. By now, most of the injured have either been shifted to hospitals or those with minor injuries have been stabilised.

7.01am: Reinforcements and ambulances arrived

Senior officials of the North District, including the Joint Commissioner of Police, also reached the spot along with additional personnel and staff. Ambulances also came with them; The remaining injured and those requiring medical attention were taken to hospital.

However, by now the seriously injured had been taken to hospital in autorickshaws or e-rickshaws by the police with the help of local residents and marketers. Police officials involved in the rescue said that before the ambulances arrived, many of the injured were placed on plywood planks from nearby construction sites, detachable seats of e-rickshaws, metal rods and wooden sticks, which acted as stretchers.

7.02 pm: First medico-legal certificate received

The injured had already been sent to the hospital and were undergoing treatment. Exactly ten minutes after the blast, at 7.02 pm, the police had obtained the first medico-legal certificate (MLC) for one of the injured.

Banthia said these MLCs detail the nature of the injuries and their possible causes. He said, “It is also important for the investigation because the type of injuries will help investigators find out the chemicals used in the explosive, the intensity of the blast and whether any shrapnel was used in the explosive device that detonated. Ultimately it can also help in finding out what type of explosive it was and where it was possibly obtained from.”