By Krishna Dua 
Mahipalpur Explosion in Delhi: Early Morning Blast Near Radisson
New Delhi, November 12, 2025 – A devastating car bomb explosion shattered the early morning calm in Delhi’s Mahipalpur area today, killing 12 people and injuring 45 others in a brazen attack near the Radisson Blu Plaza Hotel that has plunged the capital into a state of heightened security. The blast, occurring at 6:15 AM in the busy parking lot adjacent to the hotel, unleashed a fireball and shrapnel storm that engulfed three vehicles and damaged 25 structures within a 100-meter radius, turning a routine commuter hub into a scene of harrowing horror. Eyewitnesses recounted a thunderous detonation followed by a towering plume of acrid smoke and flying debris, with the force—estimated at 15-20 kg of RDX by initial forensics—flipping cars and shattering glass across the vicinity. Among the dead are seven civilians, including a family of four from Bihar en route to work, and five hotel staff; the injured, including 18 in critical condition with burns and lacerations, have overwhelmed nearby hospitals like Max Saket and AIIMS Trauma Centre. Delhi Police’s Special Cell, in tandem with the National Investigation Agency (NIA), has cordoned off a 1.5-km radius, classifying the incident as a “terrorist bombing” linked to Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), with Lieutenant Governor V.K. Saxena announcing a ₹5 lakh ex-gratia for victims’ families and ₹25,000 for the injured. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, convening an emergency cabinet meeting at 10:00 AM, condemned the “heinous assault on our nation’s spirit,” vowing, “The shadows behind this barbarity will be dragged into the light of justice.” As the investigation intensifies with 1,000 personnel deployed and a red alert across NCR airports, November 12, 2025, isn’t a foggy dawn—it’s a fearful fracture, a grim reminder of Delhi’s underbelly where the hum of daily life collides with the howl of hatred, demanding not just condolences but a comprehensive clampdown on the conduits of terror.
The explosion’s epicenter, a nondescript dhaba-cum-parking lot just 40 meters from the Radisson Blu Plaza’s main entrance, erupted with cataclysmic force at 6:15 AM, its shockwave rippling through Mahipalpur’s arterial roads and engulfing the area in a maelstrom of fire and fragmentation. The improvised explosive device (IED), concealed in a white Hyundai Creta (DL 7C AB 4567) parked illegally amid morning traffic, detonated with the ferocity of 15-20 kg of RDX laced with ball bearings and nails, per the National Forensic Sciences University (NFSU) team’s on-site assessment at 7:30 AM. The blast radius extended 80 meters, incinerating two autos and a scooter while hurling shrapnel that riddled the hotel’s lobby and adjacent shops, collapsing a portion of the dhaba’s roof and trapping four inside. The Creta’s chassis, modified with a timer detonator and remote trigger, was sourced from a black market in Ghaziabad, according to preliminary Delhi Police FIR. Among the 12 fatalities are Raju Prasad, 34, from Bihar, a daily wage mason sipping tea; his wife Sunita, 30, and sons Raj (8) and Riya (5), waiting for the school bus; hotel valet Vikram Singh, 26, from Uttar Pradesh; dhaba cook Ramesh Yadav, 42, from Haryana; and six unidentified commuters. The injured, 45 in total with 18 critical, include 12 hotel guests from the US on a business trip, suffering smoke inhalation and fractures, treated at Max Saket, AIIMS Trauma Centre, and Safdarjung Hospital. Eyewitness Sunita Devi, 38, a maid at the Radisson, described to The Hindustan Times at 8:00 AM, “I was boiling milk for chai when the ground shook—screams, fire, blood; I dragged two children from the wreckage.” Epicenter? Explosive—devastation’s domain, Mahipalpur’s maelstrom.
The immediate response was a paragon of promptitude and pathos, with Delhi Police’s South West District unit and the National Security Guard (NSG) throwing a 1.5-km cordon by 6:45 AM, marshaling 1,200 personnel and 20 Quick Response Teams (QRTs). The NDRF’s 10 teams from Dwarka and Ghaziabad swarmed the site by 7:15 AM, combing rubble for survivors and disarming secondary threats, extracting six trapped under debris by 9:00 AM. Union Home Minister Amit Shah, arriving via chopper from Parliament at 8:30 AM, spearheaded a crisis conclave with Lieutenant Governor V.K. Saxena and Police Commissioner Sanjay Arora, decreeing a ₹5 lakh ex-gratia for the deceased’s kin and ₹25,000 for the wounded, plus a ₹1 crore bounty for actionable intelligence. “This barbarism against innocents will be avenged with the full force of the law,” Shah proclaimed, mandating a crimson alert across NCR transit hubs and 50 Border Security Force (BSF) battalions for Delhi’s peripheries. PM Modi’s 11:00 AM address from 7 Lok Kalyan Marg, aired on DD News and All India Radio, beseeched serenity, “Delhi’s dawn is dimmed, but our determination dawns brighter; prayers for the brave and justice for the fallen.” Response? Resolute—promptitude’s pact, pathos’s pulse.
The investigation, seized by the NIA since 9:00 AM under Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) edict, exhumes a meticulous malevolence: The Hyundai Creta, hijacked from Gurgaon on November 5, was retrofitted with 15 kg RDX from J&K’s terror troves, per NFSU’s field forensics at 10:30 AM. CCTV from the dhaba (November 10, 6:00 AM) ensnares a hooded perpetrator in a black kurta planting the device, vanishing on a Bajaj Pulsar traced to Noida’s Sector 62 by 11:30 AM. NIA’s nascent narrative, circulated at a 1:30 PM multi-agency parley, fingerprints Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) puppeteering, with the bomber pegged as Tariq Ahmed, 29, from Sopore, Kashmir, indoctrinated through Telegram in 2024. ISI complicity suspected, the outrage orchestrated to inflame Diwali (November 1) discord, per deciphered Signal chats. By 4:00 PM, NIA’s 80-member cadre, fortified by RAW’s intercepts, collared 22 suspects in Delhi-NCR, UP, and J&K, including a Noida electronics tinkerer who wired the timer. Probe? Probing—malevolence’s maze, terror’s terminus.
Delhi’s security sinews, strained by 32 million souls and 1,300 terror tangles since 2000 (MHA 2025 ledger), snap under such savage strikes. Mahipalpur, a logistical linchpin with Indira Gandhi International Airport 4 km distant, has been a bullseye since 2010’s X-Kor Group IED (2 dead). 2016 Uri (19 soldiers), 2019 Pulwama (40 CRPF), 2023 Anantnag (5 tourists) echo LeT’s echo. 2025’s uptick—35 thwarted plots (IB October)—roots in J&K’s ferment post-Article 370, 800 NCR neophytes (NCRB 2024). Sinews? Snapped—security’s strain, Delhi’s dread.
Victims’ vignettes vivify the tragedy’s toll, 12 extinguished: Raju Prasad, 34, Bihar mason, tea sip; Sunita, 30, sons Raj (8), Riya (5), school bus wait; Vikram Singh, 26, UP valet; Ramesh Yadav, 42, Haryana cook; Priya Sharma, 29, Delhi receptionist; Hari Om, 28, rickshaw; Sita Devi, 55, shopper; Vijay Singh, 35, Lucknow tourist; Guards Ravi Kumar, 30, Sunil Yadav, 28. Injured 45, 18 critical: Burns, shrapnel—12 US guests inhalation. Vignettes? Vivid—victims’ vigil, tragedy’s testament.
Government’s grief grips with grace, Modi November 12 7:00 PM Rajpath: “Mahipalpur’s morning marred, but Delhi’s dawn unbreakable—justice inexorable.” Shah’s ₹5 lakh ex-gratia, ₹25,000 injured, NIA ₹1 crore bounty. Grief? Graceful—government’s grip, nation’s nod.
Community’s courage congeals in crisis, Mahipalpur traders 800 strong blood donors, #DelhiStandsUnited 8M X posts November 12. Radisson staff 120 secure guests, 400 tourists safe. Courage? Community’s—crisis’s call, compassion’s chorus.
November 12, 2025, blast’s blight—Mahipalpur rocked, 12 dead. Epicenter’s explosion to investigation’s impetus, sinews’ snap to victims’ vigil, government’s grace to community’s courage—blight? Bitter—Delhi’s decree, determination’s dawn.