One held after explosion injured two in UP's Hapur; agencies probing link to Delhi blast

Hapur (UP), Nov 14 (PTI) A man was held after an explosion occurred under suspicious circumstances in a rented house, injuring two people on Friday here, police said.

Intelligence agencies and a Delhi Police team also visited the site, with officials examining whether the incident has any link to the recent Red Fort blast in Delhi, sources said.

Officers have detained Mujahid, a resident of Bihar who had been living in the same house under an assumed identity of Mujjalim, police said.

The blast occurred in a six-room house on Dhaulana Road in the Pilkhua area, which owner Pawan Tomar had rented out.

Police said the explosion ripped through one of the rooms, bringing down parts of the walls and roof and triggering panic among other tenants.

According to the police, the injured were identified as Raj Kishor Sharma and Madan Sharma, both from Bihar.

They were taken to a hospital after teams of police and fire services reached the spot.

All six rooms were searched, and the building was sealed.

Circle Officer Anita Chauhan said the cause of the explosion is yet to be ascertained.

"We are verifying whether the blast was triggered by a gas leak, chemicals or some other source. One person has been detained for questioning," she said.

Forensic teams are collecting samples, and the exact cause will be ascertained after the report, Chauhan added.

Meanwhile, on Wednesday night, the Delhi Police had detained Dr Farukh, an assistant professor at Hapur's GS Medical College, for his alleged connections to the blast in the national capital.

He is a native of Jammu and Kashmir, and completed his medical education from Al Falah University in Haryana's Faridabad, Hapur Additional Superintendent of Police Vineet Bhatnagar said on Thursday.

A high-intensity explosion ripped through a slow-moving car at a traffic signal near the Red Fort metro station on Monday evening, killing 13 people and injuring several others. PTI COR KIS SHS SHS