Fact Check: No, Delhi Blast Wasn’t A CNG Explosion, Old Lebanon Image Shared Falsely

Panic and misinformation swirled in the aftermath of Monday's blast in the national capital. A high-intensity explosion ripped through a slow-moving car at a traffic signal near the Red Fort metro station on Monday evening, killing at least twelve people and gutting several vehicles. The blast was suspected to be linked with the 'white-collar' terror module which was busted during a joint operation earlier in the day. The government has intervened to quash false claims going viral on the internet. Centre's nodal agency Press Information Bureau's fact-checking unit busted several viral claims in the aftermath of the Delhi explosion. In a late-night post on X, PIB exposed a widely circulated image—showing a massive fireball and mushroom cloud—being

falsely peddled as footage from the Delhi blast. The PIB's Fact-Checking Unit clarified that the photo actually dates back to an Israeli airstrike on Beirut's Dahiyeh suburb in Lebanon on September 27, 2024.The image has no connection to the recent explosion in the national capital, it said.

The fact-checking unit flagged that several social media posts had falsely claimed that Special CP (Law & Order) Ravindra Yadav confirmed the recent blast in Delhi was caused by a CNG explosion. It clarified that such posts were fake and that there was no such statement given by any Delhi Police official.

A high-intensity explosion ripped through a slow-moving car at a traffic signal near the Red Fort metro station on Monday evening, killing at least 12 people and gutting several vehicles. Police said that the car, in which the blast took place, had three occupants, adding that they are also probing if it was a suicide bomber attack.Police registered an FIR under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and the Explosives Act under sections which deal with punishment and conspiracy of a terror attack. Preliminary findings by police suggest ammonium nitrate, fuel oil and detonators may have been used in the blast near the Red Fort that killed at least nine people, police sources said.Delhi Police Commissioner Satish Golcha on Monday told reporters that the explosion took place around 6.52 pm in a slow-moving Hyundai i20 car at a traffic signal near the Red Fort Metro Station.The Red Fort Metro Station has been closed for commuters, while traffic restrictions have also been imposed in the area.