Delhi HC blast: HuJI email traced to Kishtwar; internet cafe raided, owner held

The e-mail sent by an unknown outfit Harkat-ul-Jihad claiming responsibility for the blast outside the Delhi High Court on Wednesday has been traced to Kishtwar district in Jammu and Kashmir, National Investigating Agency (NIA) sources told Headlines Today on Thursday.

The Jammu and Kashmir Police, after getting intelligence inputs from NIA and Delhi Police, raided a cyber cafe in Kishtwar, about 180 km from Jammu.

The police picked up the owner of the cyber cafe and seized all the systems. Sources said the owner of the cafe told police that a boy in the age group of 18 to 19 had gone there on Wednesday.

There was no record available at the cyber cafe about his name and address. He had come to the cyber cafe after about four days.

Police said they were waiting for college and schools to open to continue with their investigation, which depended on identifying the boy.

Hours after the blast, Harkut-ul-Jihad had sent e-mails to some news channels, including Headlines Today, claiming responsibility for the terror attack.

Blast outside Delhi High Court kills at least 9, injures 61

New Delhi, India (CNN) -- At least nine people were killed Wednesday after a bomb inside a briefcase exploded outside the Delhi High Court, India's home minister told lawmakers.

Delhi police said another 61 people were injured.

It was the second explosion outside the court complex in four months.

Wednesday's explosion took place on a particularly busy day at the court. The briefcase was placed in front of the Gate No. 5, used by litigants and lawyers.

Officials fear the death toll will rise.

"Whatever we could gather from the blast investigations is that it is an IED (improvised explosive device) with ammonium nitrate. We are working with the Delhi Police to get details," National Security Guard Director Gen. Rajen Medhekar told reporters.

No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack.

The blast took place about 10:15 a.m., after the court opened and shortly before cases usually begin.

Wednesdays are dubbed "public interest litigation" days at the court, when many members of the public arrive to put cases before judges.

Pandemonium covered the streets of Delhi as emergency vehicles weaved around crowds, casualties were rushed off on stretchers and stunned residents wandered about with hands over their mouths.

The area was cordoned off, and police and bomb-sniffing dogs continued working the scene as rain poured.

The National Investigation Agency, a security agency set up after Mumbai terror attacks in 2008, was also investigating.

On May 25, ammonium nitrate wrapped in a bag and placed in a car outside the court's Gate No. 7 went off. No one was hurt in the explosion, but it prompted authorities to place the Delhi on high alert.

"Delhi is a target of terrorist groups. When parliament is in session, and during certain other times of the year, Delhi is placed on high alert," Home Minister P. Chidambaram told lawmakers.

Despite ongoing work between intelligence agencies and police, Chidambaram said, "at this stage, it is not possible to identify the group that caused the bomb blast today."

New Delhi Bombing: Bomb Explodes Outside Indian Court, At Least 9 Killed

NEW DELHI — A bomb apparently hidden in a briefcase exploded Wednesday outside a top court in New Delhi, killing 10 people in the deadliest attack in the Indian capital in nearly three years.

The bombing, which came while the city already was under high alert, raised questions about India's ability to protect even its most important institutions despite a national security overhaul that followed the 2008 siege of Mumbai.

The government rallied Indians to remain defiant in the face of such attacks.

"We will never succumb to the pressure of terrorists," Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said during a visit to neighboring Bangladesh. "This is a long war in which all political parties and all the people of India will have to stand united so that this scourge of terrorism is crushed."

The bomb exploded about 10:14 a.m. near a line of more than 100 people waiting at a reception counter for passes to enter the court building to have their cases heard.

"There was smoke everywhere. People were running. People were shouting. There was blood everywhere. It was very, very scary," said Sangeeta Sondhi, a lawyer, who was parking her car near the gate when the bomb exploded.

The blast shook the courthouse, sending lawyers and judges fleeing outside, said Sanjiv Narula, a lawyer who was in the building.

People ran to the blast site to assist the injured, piling them into auto-rickshaws to take them to the hospital. Police said 10 people were killed and scores more injured. Ambulances and forensic teams rushed to the scene, along with sniffer dogs and a bomb disposal unit, apparently checking for any further explosives.

Renu Sehgal, a 42-year-old housewife with a case before the court, had just received her pass and was standing nearby with her uncle and mother while her husband parked their car when she heard the explosion.

Bomb Blast outside Delhi High Court : 10 killed, 60 Injured

Eleven people were killed and 60 injured in a terror blast outside the Delhi High Court on Wednesday morning. It was the second blast near the high court within four months.

The blast took place around 10.15 am near gate number 5, where about 200 people were waiting in queue to get passes for entry to the court complex. The blast area was cordoned off and police asked people to clear the area.

A group by the name Harkat-ul-Jihad claimed responsibility for the blast. The group sent an email to AajTak.

Home Minister P. Chidambaram expressed sympathy for the families of the victims.

Chidambaram told Parliament that the National Investigation Agency (NIA), NSG, forensic teams and Delhi Police were probing the blast. "The perpetrators will be brought to justice," he said.

"Most of the injured are being treated at the Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital and a few at AIIMS. Some people have been seriously injured. Those with minor injuries were treated at the dispensary at the high court," he said.

First pictures of blast outside Delhi High Court

Delhi Police's special commissioner (law and order) Dharmendra Kumar said the initial investigation suggested that the explosive could have been planted in a briefcase.