Red Fort Blast: Taxi driver, cosmetics shop owner identified among 12 victims

Eighteen-year-old Nauman Ansari from Uttar Pradesh’s Shamli district was in the city to buy cosmetics for his shop when the powerful blast near Delhi’s Red Fort claimed his life.

Ansari, who hailed from Jhinjhana town in Shamli, was the sole breadwinner of his family.

“Nauman was killed on the spot while his cousin Aman sustained injuries and is undergoing treatment at Lok Nayak Hospital in Delhi,” Nauman’s uncle Furkan said.

The family is making arrangements to bring Nauman’s body back for burial, Furkan said.

Sonu, a relative of the victim, who worked in a shop near the New Delhi Railway station, said, “Early this morning, I got a call from my uncle saying Nauman was no more and asked me to reach LNJP Hospital.”

Among those killed was DTC conductor Ashok Kumar, 34, who hailed from Amroha district.

Another deceased has been identified as 22-year-old Pankaj Sahini, who used to operate a taxi.

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His relative Ramdev Sahni said a phone call was received from Kotwali police station in Delhi regarding his nephew’s death in the blast on Monday evening that left 12 people dead.

He was waiting outside the mortuary to collect the body of his nephew while his brother and the father of the victim were inside to complete the paperwork.

“He drove a taxi for three years. We were told the backside of his head was blown off. The car, a WagnoR, was completely damaged,” Sahni said.

According to Delhi Police, the death toll has risen to 12, with three more people succumbing to their injuries on Tuesday. Over 20 others were injured in the incident.

A case has been registered under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and the Explosives Act, and multiple raids are being conducted by Delhi Police as part of the ongoing investigation. The national capital has been placed on high alert, with enhanced security at airports, railway stations, and bus terminals, officials said.

Security agencies and the police in Uttar Pradesh have stepped up vigilance across the state in view of the blast in the national capital.