New Delhi:

One of the owners of the Hyundai i20 that exploded near Delhi’s Red Fort Monday evening – killing eight people and injuring 20 others in a shocking high-intensity blast – is a man from Jammu and Kashmir’s Pulwama, sources told NDTV hours after the explosion.

Minutes earlier police in Haryana’s Gurugram confirmed the arrest of a Mohd Salman, the original owner of the i20 bearing the number plate HR26 CE 7674. However, Salman told the police he had sold the car – to a man called Tariq, who hails from J&K’s Pulwama.

What has been confirmed so far is that the car slowed down as it approached a traffic signal near Gate No. 1 of the Lal Qila Metro Station at around 6:52 p.m. Within seconds — no more than a minute later — it exploded.

According to sources, the blast originated from the rear of the vehicle. The impact was so powerful that it set nearly two dozen nearby vehicles, including an e-rickshaw, on fire. The flames raged for nearly 40 minutes before firefighters were able to bring them under control.