Residents of Rohini in Delhi were startled by a loud explosion on Sunday morning that sent panic throughout the Paschim Vihar neighborhood. The blast, occurring near a CRPF school, shook houses hundreds of meters away, with locals describing the scene as filled with white smoke and a chemical-like smell lingering in the air.
Emergency responders, including the National Security Guard (NSG) and the National Investigation Agency (NIA), were quick to arrive on the scene to investigate.While no casualties were reported, nearby shops, a car, and parts of the school suffered visible damage, adding to concerns among residents about the cause of the blast.
Kiran Sachdeva, a local resident, said the explosion’s force felt like an earthquake. “It wasn’t like a firecracker, the sound was incredibly loud. And for 15-20 minutes, there was just smoke everywhere,” said Sachdeva whose house was about 200-250 meters away from the site, quoted PTI.
Himanshu Kohli, a shopkeeper, recounted running toward the site, only to be met by thick smoke and shattered glass. “Glass windows and boards were broken. I got scared and returned to my shop,” Kohli said.
Many residents, relieved the blast occurred on a Sunday when schools were closed, expressed fears about what could have happened if it had been a weekday.
“My son studies in class 9 at that (CRPF) school. I couldn’t help but be worried about him,” said Rita Singh, another Paschim Vihar resident.
Anita Singh had just returned from the temple when she heard the “very loud explosion”. “I felt the vibrations in my house. It felt like someone’s cylinder had exploded nearby. My children’s school bus comes here and usually we stand at this (near the school) gate in the morning.
“But since today was Sunday, nobody got hurt. I shudder to think about how big a disaster it could have been if it had happened during the weekdays,” she said.
Thirty-five-year-old Anish Malhotra woke up in fear when he heard the explosion.
“When I came outside, it was all smoky, but thankfully it was Sunday, and schools were closed, because there are two schools adjacent to each other here, he said.
With the festive season in full swing, residents are uneasy. The area, normally busy with Karwa Chauth celebrations and Diwali shopping, would have been much more crowded later in the day, sparking concerns about the potential scale of the disaster if the explosion had occurred at a different time.
Authorities are now piecing together evidence, including CCTV footage, to determine the cause of the explosion, which is suspected to be a crude bomb. For the community, however, the event has left lingering questions and heightened anxiety as investigations continue.
