Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday spoke to his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu and conveyed his condemnation of the blast near the middle eastern country’s embassy in Delhi on January 29.
Modi assured Netanyahu that India accords the highest importance to the safety and security of Israeli diplomats and premises, a statement issued by the Prime Minister’s Office said. He said India would deploy all its resources to find and punish the perpetrators of the attack. “Both leaders expressed satisfaction about the close coordination between Indian and Israeli security agencies in this context,” the PMO’s statement added.
Netanyahu also expressed gratitude to Modi. “Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke today by telephone with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and thanked him for his government’s efforts to safeguard Israeli representatives in the aftermath of the terrorist event near the Israeli Embassy in India,” a tweet from Netanyahu’s official handle said.
On January 29, a minor blast took place near the Israel embassy at Central Delhi’s APJ Abdul Kalam Road. No injuries or damage to personal properties were reported, except shattered windscreens of cars parked nearby.
The next day, Israel’s Ambassador to India Ron Malka said there were enough reasons to believe that the blast outside the country’s embassy in Delhi was a terrorist attack. He, however, said that the incident was not surprising as they were on alert for the past few weeks following intelligence agency inputs.
The blast took place less than two kilometres from Vijaya Chowk, where President Ram Nath Kovind, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other senior members of the government were present for the Beating Retreat ceremony.
Delhi Police Commissioner SN Shrivastava visited the site to examine the situation. The police’s bomb disposal squad carried out searches at the blast site to ascertain if there were more explosives in the area.
An official said that forensic experts too examined the blast site. Samples of dust and grass were collected from the nearby area.
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